Consumer Safety & Awareness Part 4

Why Scams Work

There are several types of scammers, each with their own specialty. Some work on the road, hitting and running away so rapidly that you see them only for a few moments. Some specialize in mail, telephone, or e-mail fraud. Generally what works in one of these media does well in others, although some variations are easier in a particular mode. Others work in offices, and they rob you with their pens, computers, calculators, and contracts. They include lawyers, financial advisors, tax consultants, government workers, and all sorts of white-collar workers.

Every occupation provides opportunity for people to work scams, from within and without. They can rob you with a gun, through trickery, or with a piece of paper. They can assist you in fooling yourself. Scammers provide the opportunity for you to fall into their traps.

No one knows how many CEOs sit in their offices, perhaps playing computer games, raking in their millions. It is impossible to estimate how many hackers transfer money from one account to another or use other people’s computers to make their fortunes. Large corporations have so many layers of security, that it’s impossible for them to see the individual twigs in their vast forests.

Who steals from others? Principals and school superintendents misdirect funds or lie on their expense vouchers. Little league managers and supervisors obscure their income totals and fib about what they spend money on. Community and school tax collectors pocket cash given by homeowners. Politicians, contractors, and people who make purchases for all sorts of companies and institutions accept kickbacks or look the other way when poor quality material is used.

Insurance companies, cable and telephone services, lawn care and pest control franchises all create contracts so obscure that they can easily add on fees for what you thought was covered by contract. Auto repair shops use sub-standard inexpensive parts, or replace good ones with used. Gas stations and deli counters rig their weights and measures. Homeowners hide defects when they sell their houses. Building inspectors accept bribes.

Think back on episodes of Law & Order, Monk, NCIS, or any television show or movie involving people, money, and possessions. They are not outlandish. Well, “Men in Black” was a bit extreme. Situational dramas are based on real life happenings.

Every day, from morning to night, you give scammers the opportunity to rob you. Every time your telephone rings, it could be someone testing to see if you are home. When the doorbell chimes there could be someone waiting to sneak into your house. In the streets and stores there are teams of pickpockets, people who stage accidents, and others looking to provide you with the opportunity to purchase things at highly inflated costs. In your work place there are those who know just what you need to cure your sniffles, or to provide the best health care, or to give you a chance to improve yourself.

There are frauds dealing with education, daycare, and repairs of all sorts. There are con artists waiting to explain why you need a new roof or fresh blacktop. There are gas stations and home heating fuel companies that purchase the dregs from the bottom of those huge storage tanks, and their products are more likely to contain water or sediment that will ruin your engine or furnace.

There are “honest” businesses with good reliable names that sell substandard material, put impurities in their product, and sell medications that have no value or may even be harmful. Trusted advisors will bill you for work not performed or will sell your personal information for a profit. Judges take bribes, cops take bribes, teachers take bribes, and contractors take bribes.

Have I insulted your profession yet? Sorry I missed it. You probably know someone who does exactly what you do who is a bit shady. People cut corners, they get even with their bosses, they feel they are not paid enough or not appreciated. Human nature.

Enough paranoia. Yes, there are people out to get you, and if you let them they’ll jump at the opportunity. Let’s see what we can do to put you in bulletproof armor; a scam-resistant vest of knowledge that will prevent, deflect, reduce opportunities and make it less likely you’ll be chosen as a mark.

Next week we will start looking at specific con situations.