There’s John Oliver’s recent piece on internet scams, where people are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers.

There is also the NYT financial reporter who lost $50,000 when scammers convinced her to empty her accounts and turn the cash over to them for safekeeping.

There is amy tennis friend who lost the entire assets of a non-profit dedicated to providing physical fitness opportunities to poor kids; scammers convinced her to withdraw $15,000, put it in a book, and FedEx it to California.

And yet I hear, “It could happen to anyone.”

But could it? Boy, I really don’t think so.

I am a ruthless skeptic. I believe anything that sounds too good to be true, is. I don’t buy anything I don’t understand. I think there is no such thing as easy money. If anything is outside my normal experience and expectations, I lock down. I cannot be rushed; I believe any legitimate deal available today will be available tomorrow. And I am very, very cheap.

Nah. It could never happen to me, unless I start experiencing dementia.

Cindy — confident she could sit through an 8-hour timeshare presentation and leave without a timeshare

I can’t see how it could happen to me either. I’m much too skeptical. I cut off any communication that seems the slightly bit off.

But never say never, right?

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There is also the NYT financial reporter who lost $50,000 when scammers convinced her to empty her accounts and turn the cash over to them for safekeeping.

that's pretty incredible. what kind of scam was that?

I’ve been reading about those too.

I don’t think it could happen to me either, but you never know. I will just try to keep being vigilant, remain calm… and yes, skeptical.

here's the story. it was NY magazine, not the NYT. not the same standard of reporter.

What Amazon, the F.T.C. and C.I.A. Won’t Say When You’ve Been Scammed https://www.nytimes.com/2024/0...ytcore-android-share

Anything that involves cash in a box is definitely not going to happen with me.

i am not suspecting a scam around every turn. in part because i tend to ask a lot of questions--without being suspicious, it's just my nature--I usually find out someone is a scammer because rather than answer my questions they'll hang up or block me (if it's online).

that's when i find out they are a scammer--they disappear, long before they had a chance to scam me.

so maybe ask lots of questions and see if you can make your would-be scammer go poof!

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Anything that involves cash in a box is definitely not going to happen with me.

Same.

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Originally posted by piqué:
i am not suspecting a scam around every turn. in part because i tend to ask a lot of questions--without being suspicious, it's just my nature--I usually find out someone is a scammer because rather than answer my questions they'll hang up or block me (if it's online).

that's when i find out they are a scammer--they disappear, long before they had a chance to scam me.

so maybe ask lots of questions and see if you can make your would-be scammer go poof!

Best you don’t waste your time. They’re scammers.

The crazy thing is that the woman who wrote for the N.Y. Post or whatever is/was the writer of a financial advice column, and she handed $50K in cash to some jamoke who showed up on her porch. It’s so mind blowingly stupid that I’m inclined to believe it’s click bait.

But maybe she really is that stupid.

One thing for sure - best you find yiur financial advice elsewhere.

Here’s her article describing what happened.

https://www.thecut.com/article...arrest-warrants.html

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Still, how could I have been such easy prey? Scam victims tend to be single, lonely, and economically insecure with low financial literacy. I am none of those things. I’m closer to the opposite. I’m a journalist who had a weekly column in the “Business” section of the New York Times. I’ve written a personal-finance column for this magazine for the past seven years. I interview money experts all the time and take their advice seriously. I’m married and talk to my friends, family, and colleagues every day.

And while this is harder to quantify — how do I even put it? — I’m not someone who loses her head. My mother-in-law has described me as even-keeled; my own mom has called me “maddeningly rational.” I am listed as an emergency contact for several friends — and their kids. I vote, floss, cook, and exercise. In other words, I’m not a person who panics under pressure and falls for a conspiracy involving drug smuggling, money laundering, and CIA officers at my door. Until, suddenly, I was.

I’ve seen her interviewed and she seems genuinely and totally embarrassed, but is going public in order to warn other people. My takeaway was that she felt that her family was being threatened and that her fear overtook her thinking. Her rational brain was basically disabled. I’d like to think I wouldn’t fall for it because it was so obviously a scam, but i also accept the possibility that I have some Achilles heel that would allow me to be fooled into doing something equally dumb.

I have heard that scammers have gotten to the point where they are able to sample someone's voice, use AI to make the voice say other things, and then call up their parents and make it sound like the kid is in serious distress and needs money sent ASAP. It sounds exactly like the kid and the call comes from the kid's number (which they spoof). I could see myself panicking and falling for something like that pretty easily, especially if I'm half asleep in the middle of the night. AI is scary stuff.

That said, one of the smartest guys I ever met was in the process of getting seriously scammed last time I spoke to him. He was telling me all about how this woman he met on the internet had an uncle who was a crypto investor and she was giving him all these tips and even gave him some of her own money to start investing with. Once he saw the returns he was getting (and he was getting returns - like he was able to physically withdraw the money from the account and hold it in his hands), he started adding more and more of his own money and the returns kept going up. They were giving him all of this money that he could take out and hold which convinced him it was legit, so he'd put that money back in and add more. They were so smooth about it that even as he was telling me and my alarm bells were going off, he also half managed to convince me that it was all legit. I'm talking a fully fleshed out back story and answers for EVERYTHING -- every single skeptical question I raised had an immediate and completely plausible answer. Still, I was pretty sure it was a scam and he was going to get burned in the end.

I haven't talked to him since, but I recently read an article that basically described that EXACT scam -- they were these poor trafficked women in a call center in Myanmar spinning this yarn about their crypto investor uncle etc. etc. So I'm sure that's what it was. And this guy was a PhD from an Ivy League school - brilliant brilliant guy with a lifetime of riches saved up for his retirement.....and the whole reason he was investing was because this charitable music festival thing his parents had founded in the 70s was financially struggling and he was determined to make enough money to save it....he wasn't even investing for his own greed, he was planning to donate everything he made. I really hope he figured it out before he lost everything.

Lisa,

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I recently read an article that basially described that exact scam -- they were these poor trafficked women in Myanmar spinning this yarn about their crypto investor uncle etc. etc.

I hope you sent him the article???

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Originally posted by piqué:
here's the story. it was NY magazine, not the NYT. not the same standard of reporter

She had a weekly financial column in the NYT Business section. She currently writes for NY Magazine.

I think one way they get you is operate in an area in which you think you are knowledgeable.

Take MS, for instance.

She was just out of college and looking for an apartment. At the time, she worked for an apartment leasing agent for a major construction corporation in the DC area. She showed apartments and handled leases as part of her job.

She saw an apartment ad online that looked perfect for her. Shiny new, gleaming floors and appliances, nice area. And the rent was really good and slightly under market. She contacted them and asked for an opportunity to inspect the apartment. The landlord said she couldn't do that right now because her sister owned the apartment and would be out of town for the next couple of weeks. If MS wanted to hold the apartment, she would have to send a deposit ($1000-ish) now, fully refundable if she changed her mind after she saw the unit. Lots of people were interested, so the apartment would be gone if MS waited.

When I told MS this was a scam, MS fought me on it. She was confident because they do this kind of arrangement at her employer; people put down refundable deposits until they can come see a unit. Yeah, but that is with a major corporation with clear terms for the arrangement, not some rando on the internet. Finally, I told MS she should google the photos in the apartment. Sure enough, the photos were in ads in many different cities.

MS didn't send the deposit, of course, and she learned a super valuable lesson.

@Lisa,

The use of imposters and possibility of deep fakes makes it pretty tough to be sure you're dealing with a family member.

I think I would have to ask some questions only my family members would know. If an imposter can somehow tell me my favorite kind of candy, well, they're gonna get me.

Cindy -- who would hang up immediately if the response was "Peeps"