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Old 09-30-2015, 05:48 PM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,915,217 times
Reputation: 33164

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Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia View Post
But why aren't the elderly wiser? They should be the least susceptible targets. After all, they have lived longer and seen more attempted scams than those younger. If you are wise to identity scams now at the age of 30 or 40, are you going to forget all about it and become naive at age 60?

Perhaps these are widows who have depended on someone else their whole life to watch out for them and suddenly they are on their own?
I have an answer for that. People tend to develop a lot of anxiety as they age, particularly if they don't have a lot of social supports. I noticed this in my own grandmother before she passed away. They develop lots of fears that they didn't have when they were younger; fears of break-ins, losing their money, their independence, and of course their lives. Some of these fears are justified, but some of them aren't real. When you add insomnia and health problems to the mix, which are very common among elderly people, the anxiety is heightened even more, and they can even become paranoid. Thus they become easy targets of con artists who promise a quick solution to whatever problem they feel they have.
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Old 09-30-2015, 05:59 PM
 
6,319 posts, read 7,225,186 times
Reputation: 11987
You know what gets me?

I know one, personally.

Stupid women who give their hard earned to internet Romeos.

I just have no sympathy, at all, none. Give your cash to me if you're so keen on parting with it, at least I wont break your heart.
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Old 09-30-2015, 06:48 PM
 
3,756 posts, read 4,076,393 times
Reputation: 7766
I'll probably get deleted and reprimanded for going off topic, but I have a better question, why are there so many scammers? Why do so many people here in this country, not Nigeria, make their living scamming people, and seem to have no guilty conscience about it? And please don't tell me it is because of a poor job market out there.
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Old 09-30-2015, 09:57 PM
 
Location: 48.0710° N, 118.1989° W
590 posts, read 712,225 times
Reputation: 884
Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia View Post
But why aren't the elderly wiser? They should be the least susceptible targets. After all, they have lived longer and seen more attempted scams than those younger. If you are wise to identity scams now at the age of 30 or 40, are you going to forget all about it and become naive at age 60?

Perhaps these are widows who have depended on someone else their whole life to watch out for them and suddenly they are on their own?

Because they come from an era where people worked for what they wanted and nearly no one tried to get something for nothing. Its almost inconceivable to many elderly folks out there that someone would actually have the nerve to call their home and try to scam them out of their money with no regard as to how it affects them.
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Old 09-30-2015, 10:04 PM
 
3,205 posts, read 2,613,310 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by james777 View Post
I'll probably get deleted and reprimanded for going off topic, but I have a better question, why are there so many scammers? Why do so many people here in this country, not Nigeria, make their living scamming people, and seem to have no guilty conscience about it? And please don't tell me it is because of a poor job market out there.
How about this:

For every family with parents who teach their children that "honesty is the best policy", "follow the golden rule", and "you have to see the best in people", there is a family that teaches their children "always look out for number 1", "you need to take what you want in this world", and "only the strong survive".
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Old 09-30-2015, 10:18 PM
 
3,205 posts, read 2,613,310 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crf450ish View Post
Because they come from an era where people worked for what they wanted and nearly no one tried to get something for nothing. Its almost inconceivable to many elderly folks out there that someone would actually have the nerve to call their home and try to scam them out of their money with no regard as to how it affects them.
Really? So it was the era before they built prisons & jails, before organized crime, thieves, Ponzi schemes, beggars, burglars, & drug abuse, & before police and sheriff's departments were founded? What year was that? People were blindfolded to the truths of the neighborhood half a mile away from them, to the evils of segregation, and turned their eyes from the poor and downtrodden walking through the downtown areas.
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Old 10-01-2015, 06:23 AM
 
Location: Secure, Undisclosed
1,984 posts, read 1,695,420 times
Reputation: 3728
Quote:
Originally Posted by Serious Conversation View Post
Why are people so gullible after being warned time and again to avoid some situations?
The average IQ in western civilizations is 100. That means half the population has an IQ at or above 100.

It also means half the population has an IQ at or below 100.

'Nuff said...
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Old 10-01-2015, 09:06 AM
 
Location: The Greater Houston Metro Area
9,053 posts, read 17,159,653 times
Reputation: 15226
Quote:
Originally Posted by crf450ish View Post
Because they come from an era where people worked for what they wanted and nearly no one tried to get something for nothing. Its almost inconceivable to many elderly folks out there that someone would actually have the nerve to call their home and try to scam them out of their money with no regard as to how it affects them.
Con men have always walked among us. They've been known by various names - swindlers, cheaters, snake-oil salesmen, grifters, hustlers.

Movies about con men - Paper Moon, The Sting, The Rainmaker, The Hustler, and The Music Man are all set in early America - and none of those movies are new.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rugrats2001 View Post
Really? So it was the era before they built prisons & jails, before organized crime, thieves, Ponzi schemes, beggars, burglars, & drug abuse, & before police and sheriff's departments were founded? What year was that? People were blindfolded to the truths of the neighborhood half a mile away from them, to the evils of segregation, and turned their eyes from the poor and downtrodden walking through the downtown areas.

This^^^^^^^.
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Old 10-01-2015, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Tri STATE!!!
8,518 posts, read 3,737,233 times
Reputation: 6349
The elderly are not in touch with the changingbrules of society and tech. Scams and shadybsalesman have always been around but now they can use changing laws and tech to their advantage. For example my senior mom doesn't like to use credit cards or debit cards for payments because she didn't grow up using them or seeing her parents use them. I take it for granted. That's the point. Changing times. Information on people is easy to get so a scammer can call an old lady and know everything about her and her family . 30 years ago that was impossible. Now I can Google anyone and know all about them and their family . "hello Mrs finklestein, I'm with crooked cable company and I am offering you a reduction in your bill". " please verify your account with us". Y'all know the rest. I can guarantee my mom would fall for that nonsense..........
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Old 10-01-2015, 11:45 AM
 
2,508 posts, read 2,168,157 times
Reputation: 5426
Scammers make me sick. However, they couldn't survive if people weren't so stupid/gullible & fell for their tricks.

As someone who's successfully avoided a lot of scamming attempts, I've heard/seen it all. So:

1) I won't answer the phone if I don't know who's calling. And, I'll ignore messages that sound suspicious.

2) Being online (especially these days with the Internet being so fast) will expose you to a plethora of scams. These can be avoided as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mnseca View Post
I generally agree, but I work in a university where most of the faculty have PhDs and presumably aren't too stupid. But no matter how many times IT sends out information about phishing and scam mail, some professor always responds to one of those things and gives out his password. I don't know, maybe that's just proof that you can be stupid and get a PHD.
Some of the biggest idiots I've ever met have Advanced Degrees - this means nothing. They may be so-called "experts" in their chosen field, but many have 0 practical life sense and in many cases very little real-life experience.
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