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Every day it's so easy to find instances where people get scammed (including identity theft), and yet there seems to be almost no deterrents to this except a slap on the wrist and ordered to pay the money back (usually it's all spent by then). Then the people usually serve their minimal time and go right on doing it again.
Why don't people vote to do more against it? People are losing money to the tunes of thousands, taking away retirements and savings because they are preyed upon...and it can have very severe consequences.
Do we as citizens really want to let people out who will just keep preying on others...at what point do we say "You've taken it into your actions to ruin other peoples lives, you don't get a second chance"? With all the recent losses of billions to scams I almost think China has got a good idea to punish those who have ruined too many other peoples lives (China Wakes: China sentences man convicted of "ant" fraud to death..).
I have no wish to include scams where people are bilked for their own greed...
Part of the problem is in the US Constitution. If a person scams you criminally, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and it is up to the victim to provide sufficient evidence of that guilt to get a conviction. Nobody will even investigate the case, until you provide a body of evidence that a crime has been committed against you. The same thing goes for a stolen car or a liquor store holdup---if the victim cannot provide incriminating evidence, there is no case. Since the scammer is likely to be in Florida or Nevada, he feels fairly confident that you will not be there to testify against him, or even do the necessary legwork to find out who and where he is.
If they scam a hundred people, it is likely that only one or two will have the wherewithal to proceed far enough to get the matter before the courts, and they can easily offer you enough money to persuade you to drop the case. Which is not called a bribe, it is called restitution.
(There is an interesting novel about a stolen-ID victim trying to recover: "Talk Talk" by T. C. Boyle)
They don't care how many people succeed in getting restitution from them in civil litigation, which is hard enough, but getting a criminal conviction requires proof of guilt, which requires your evidence and testimony that they not only scammed you, but intended to.
In other words, if somebody steals your identity, it is up to you to find out exactly who did it. Then the police will prosecute, if the prosecutor is fairly sure that he can get a conviction, and even then, he is likely to offer a plea bargain. If he has any money, it will be taken by the courts as fines, and your restitution is somewhere way down the list of priorities.
Question: When you hand your credit card to a waitress, how much do you think she can get for your card number, expiration date, and security number off the back? What do you think are the chances that she knows somebody who will pay her for that?
Simple solution to this...don't be gullible enough that you get scammed.
Say your bank/brokerage/financial institution loses a laptop with your account info on it...the person sells all your stocks and takes off and you don't know. Your money is gone, they spent it and the bank is not responsible. Are you gullible?
Is it gullibility to be threatened with arrest and jail time because some one gets your number and screams at you?
Scams: US National Bank Scammers Still Extorting Hapless Consumers (http://consumerist.com/5086468/us-national-bank-scammers-still-extorting-hapless-consumers - broken link)
Do you have to interrogate everyone that comes to your door, and call the cops to verify their identity?
Holiday Scams: Research Charities Before Handing Over Your Cash (http://consumerist.com/5098122/holiday-scams-research-charities-before-handing-over-your-cash - broken link)
Yes, the greedy pretty much deserve parting with their money for being stupid...but blaming the victim for not being on constant guard for strangers is a bit much. Scammers do everything they can to misrepresent themselves and prey upon the desire that people have that humanity is generally decent. Maybe that is a casualty of the modern world that (Dr. Gregory House) Everybody lies.
Every day it's so easy to find instances where people get scammed (including identity theft), and yet there seems to be almost no deterrents to this except a slap on the wrist and ordered to pay the money back (usually it's all spent by then). Then the people usually serve their minimal time and go right on doing it again.
Sure we can. We protect stupid businesses from legal liability all the time.
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