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Sometimes it's fairly easy to watch a sequence of events that happens to someone, that results in them being "scammed" and wonder "how could they fall for that?!". But when you're in the middle of it personally, it can escape you. There are many reasons people get "scammed" which has different meanings to different people, let's just say you are taken advantage of in an unfair/destructive way.
It's especially easy in an environment where almost 0% interest is being paid for riskless investments.
Cable/satellite/media companies disguise obtaining/sharing/selling your personal information under the guise of an "update". There is always a hardly noticeable disclaimer that may say "global permissions obtained" if you check on the "update" box, and you can read what that means, and it usually means that you're giving that company and others AROUND THE WORLD, permission to access your data and use it for their own purposes. So it never ends, and we have to become increasingly discerning about everything and everybody when it comes to money, and personal information. AND LEARN TO READ THE SMALL PRINT!
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What should one do, if one received such an "update"? Is there a way to refuse permission?
Um.. yeah I think they're genuinely naiive. I had an ex once who was all hyped up about 2By2.Net (his Disney store didn't go as planned). I warned him days and days and months on end. If you are that naiive, and trust con artists over your significant other, it's probably good things don't work out.
If people warn their loved ones about scammers and con artists and they don't listen, it's really their own path in life they have to take. They learn the hard way, and they (may not even thank you for watching out).
It's like watching a train wreck. You see a fatal accident about to happen, and then think, "At least I did my BEST." Let it roll. And, on some level maybe it is a subconscious way of screwing up, self-sabotage.
There are so many ways it can look, people being scammed or conned.
I have let people into my life in times when I was vulnerable, that I KNEW better (in one case, I literally warned a friend about a dude, then let the dude into my own circle of trust, so damn straight I knew better.) I rationalized that I was getting something that was worth it somehow...but in hindsight, I was just sad, vulnerable, alone, isolated... At that time I was an abuse victim, and had been for years, and I think I'd gotten used to telling myself a lot of not-exactly-true things, just to get by in the life I was living. So even "knowing better" in your head...if in your heart, you're twisted up and turned around, you can still be vulnerable and an easy mark.
And no one should EVER underestimate the sheer power, of that which a person wants to believe. Telling someone what they want to hear and believe, confirming their biases, you can lead them nearly anywhere by the nose. That trick is being pulled on most of America to one degree or another these days. Like the person who wants so badly to get rich quick, that even knowing how utterly improbable it is, they will throw away their money on MLM schemes, or various forms of gambling, ending up even more broke than when they started. Even if they've been told the truth of these things by everyone around them, they WANT so badly to think, that this time...this time will be the lucky time...
And then there are people who fall prey to scams because they're literally ignorant. I don't mean stupid, they really don't know better. There are reasons why those ridiculous internet and email scams often target and snare the elderly, many older people are not as wise to them. And my soon to be daughter in law, is a college student, she just bought her first car (a very cheap starter car) and when she got her first "Your warranty is about to expire, call us NOW!" post card in the mail, she thought that it was important that she needed to call. Luckily I overheard her on the phone with them and penned a very quick note saying, "THAT'S A SCAM! Do NOT give them your info!" and she was able to get off the call... She has fallen for other scams, like a supposed work opportunity for a supposed employer from another country, who was supposedly recruiting college students. She actually lost a few hundred bucks on that.
That's all simply a matter of not having lived as an adult long enough, to know all the ways they try to get ya, and having learned what to ignore, all the spam and scams and junk out there, versus what is legit. Life has a learning curve, we're not born knowing everything.
People just choose to ignore them because they like the attention and care being given to them by scammers. It's the attention they're not getting elsewhere.
I definitely think that's true in some instances, but not all. Some people really are naive. There's a tendency to assume, sometimes unconsciously 'Since I would never do that, no one else would either'.
There are so many ways it can look, people being scammed or conned.
I have let people into my life in times when I was vulnerable, that I KNEW better (in one case, I literally warned a friend about a dude, then let the dude into my own circle of trust, so damn straight I knew better.) I rationalized that I was getting something that was worth it somehow...but in hindsight, I was just sad, vulnerable, alone, isolated... At that time I was an abuse victim, and had been for years, and I think I'd gotten used to telling myself a lot of not-exactly-true things, just to get by in the life I was living. So even "knowing better" in your head...if in your heart, you're twisted up and turned around, you can still be vulnerable and an easy mark.
And no one should EVER underestimate the sheer power, of that which a person wants to believe. Telling someone what they want to hear and believe, confirming their biases, you can lead them nearly anywhere by the nose. That trick is being pulled on most of America to one degree or another these days. Like the person who wants so badly to get rich quick, that even knowing how utterly improbable it is, they will throw away their money on MLM schemes, or various forms of gambling, ending up even more broke than when they started. Even if they've been told the truth of these things by everyone around them, they WANT so badly to think, that this time...this time will be the lucky time...
And then there are people who fall prey to scams because they're literally ignorant. I don't mean stupid, they really don't know better. There are reasons why those ridiculous internet and email scams often target and snare the elderly, many older people are not as wise to them. And my soon to be daughter in law, is a college student, she just bought her first car (a very cheap starter car) and when she got her first "Your warranty is about to expire, call us NOW!" post card in the mail, she thought that it was important that she needed to call. Luckily I overheard her on the phone with them and penned a very quick note saying, "THAT'S A SCAM! Do NOT give them your info!" and she was able to get off the call... She has fallen for other scams, like a supposed work opportunity for a supposed employer from another country, who was supposedly recruiting college students. She actually lost a few hundred bucks on that.
That's all simply a matter of not having lived as an adult long enough, to know all the ways they try to get ya, and having learned what to ignore, all the spam and scams and junk out there, versus what is legit. Life has a learning curve, we're not born knowing everything.
Very insightful, Sporkie. And many scammers have an instinct for the lost souls, the troubled souls, the needy people. They size them up very quickly, and figure out what the target wants to hear, what they need to hear, and tailor their approach to the individual's weak spot.
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