Quote:
Originally Posted by Superhal
The Psychology of Scamming
First of all, most scammers are not bad people. They are stupid people. They fell for a scam, and thus refuse to believe they are that stupid. Therefore, they try to catch somebody else with the same scam to make themselves feel less stupid.
If you have ever been the target of a scam attempt, often the scammer will screw up the trick and try for a do over. ("Oh wait wait wait!" or "Ha ha, you're too smart for that one eh?" being most common.)
There are actually very few true scammers. In reality, there are thousands of stupid people catching each other with the same tired tricks over and over again, thus, like a virus, expanding the number of scams being perpetuated. Imho, they are so stupid they can't even see the criminality of the act. There is only a little bit of vocabulary protecting them from being arrested for theft, which is the difference between an item and a virtual item. A virtual item can have value, and thus if it is stolen, you should be persecuted under the same laws that rule shoplifting or fraud. That the law only covers physical items is temporary and is bound to change, especially as virtual items start costing thousands of dollars.
So, the next time somebody tries to scam you, don't get mad. Feel sorry for the little bugger who wasn't sharp enough to figure out what happened to them first. I'm usually polite and say "Sorry you fell for that, but it won't work on me. Try somebody else." In general, this makes them feel 100X worse.
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"The greatest achievement the devil ever did, was to convince people that he doesn't excist..."
I have to comment this Superhal.
What you're talking about are small time hustlers, and they are out there too - true. But there are undeniably very well organized scammers out there, and they are
anything but stupid. The good scammer gains your trust, he plays on your own greed and vanity, he knows when to quit, and that a pawn sacrifice in fact leads to a bigger loot in the end. He makes you think
you came up with the idea - he may even seem reluctant to the deal. The skilled scammer is very hard to spot at first glance - numerous people trough out history have found them self standing in total surprise with all their things gone, asking themselves:
How did this happen? How could I be so stupid..?! The truth is that they weren't, it was just the scammer who was smarter.
A good scammer is like a fisherman - he throws out some bread to attract the fish, then he trows out the lure to see if any one nibbles the hook. Then he waits, because like any good fisherman he knows; it takes time to swallow the bait... And he never loose a fish because of impatience.
Please, don't kid yourself in thinking you will out smart any scammer you meet, because you won't.
And they are not worth pity. They will without hesitation rob you of everything you own. These guys are common thieves - nothing else.
If your not sure - don't make the deal.
If you suspect a scam, take screen shots and preferably one with the avatar scanned.
Always note avatar name, time and place if a scam occur. Press C and P on the keyboard and you get time and position visible in the chat.
Do what you can, and use your common sense - but don't let the devil convince you that he doesn't exist.