Ignoring the criticisms of this article’s “over-generalizations” I just want to add that maybe we shouldn’t be feeling a great deal of sympathy for those scammed by these monsters (whatever you want to call them, that’s what they are).
Yes, I know the people they target are often old and don’t understand the internet, but that shouldn’t matter. You should be human enough to know that when something sounds too good to be true, it almost always is. The ease at which some of these people are willing to hand over their credit card information to a total stranger is shocking to me. These is an element of gullibility that causes me even greater concern about the curent state of human intelligence.
These types of scam-artists have existed forever and will likely continue to exist forever. Sure, the use of the internet is new, but slick-talking people trying to take your money have always been there. It worries me that parents haven’t taught their children to view the world with enough cynicism to question one’s motives when they anxiously try to “get you in on the ground floor” with little to no benefit for themselves.
Of course I don’t wish bad luck on these people, but this isn’t luck, this is pure lack of intelligence. When someone calls your house and excitedly tries to make you “rich”, the first question you should be thinking in your head is “Why would they do this for me, what do they get out of this deal?”. If you are so easily blinded by the idea of making money from thin air you maybe DESERVE what you are about to get.
You don’t need to know the internet to know when something sounds fishy, and when someone is eagerly offering you the “opportunity of a lifetime” for no financial gain, you should have enough common sense to raise the red flags and slam the phone down on the hook (or gently tap the ‘END’ button on your touchscreen)…. slamming the corded phone down on the hook just sounds/feels cooler.
It’s like these people exhibit some sort of psychological defect that doesn’t allow them to smell bullshit. Of course I don’t want them to get scammed, of course I hope the scammers burn in hell for their misdeeds, but it takes two to tango, as they say.
