Scammers Delight

Years ago, I knew a woman with children who were deeply saddened by her divorce. Their depression lifted significantly when she told them they were going to Disneyland (the greatest amusement park in the country at the time). They watched television ads featuring Walt Disney himself with mounting anticipation. Life was smiling on them at last! But the woman went to the park with a boyfriend, instead. She left the children with a babysitter and returned with Disney pajamas as a consolation prize to prove she’d been there. Every night the children had to go to bed wearing their broken hearts.

We’ve all experienced acute disappointment in life. Navigating through it to brighter times is one of life’s challenges. But the gut-punch of the let-down is magnified several times when you realize the disappointment was intentionally designed to provide profit, advantage, or cruel entertainment for people who enjoy brutality. Such is the nature of scams.

Scammers begin by identifying targets, people who are especially vulnerable for one reason or another. Then, if the profit might be significant, they do a little research to claim believable identities for themselves. Sometimes, they set people who are terrified of death, an illness, or potential for illness into their sights. They present a lengthy narrative that’s glorious with bits of truth and lots of difficult concepts twisted to highlight dangers. Customers who’ve been poisoned with fear or chronic pain part with their precious funds more easily. Currently, the scammers can employ believable artificial images of celebrities who are loved and trusted to speak for their cause. The tried-and-true persuasion technique of using testimonials becomes an elaborate hoax.

The video always ends with a miraculous cure of some sort that has been laboriously concocted with rare and expensive ingredients. The pills must be consumed over time, of course, to be effective–several bottles worth. Only the most discriminating viewers will notice that the miraculous pills don’t actually contain miraculous ingredients. Or the scam may involve a special weekend meeting in an attractive, expensive resort destination. Attendees generally don’t know if the famous gurus don’t lead the exemplary lives they’re selling.

Although health, physical or mental, is a favorite topic for scamming because so few people can be sophisticated with all the latest science and cyber technology, the technique has spread to other areas where people are made into victims by intense wishing. Publishing is a current favorite, replacing clumsy scams in which a prince from a far-off land needs someone to help him move his bank account to the United States and is willing to pay handsomely for the favor. The bottom line is the vulnerable are going to lose both money and pride and often their personal identities, as well. Seniors isolated from IT departments make perfect victims.

The prevalence and success of bald-faced lies around us while institutions crumble develop a solid base for scammers to use. People no longer know who they can trust. They’re cynical and desperate at once. They may choose champions who aren’t worthy of the position. The lies they think are most convincing win. And sometimes the most outrageous lies go unchallenged simply because they seem too outrageous to be false. For scammers, using gullible targets looks fun. We all harbor secret weaknesses made of our lost hopes and growing fears. Cyberspace doesn’t discriminate between good hearts and the unscrupulous. We have only one another to help us wade through the swamp of false dreams. And now, AI has no heart to prevent being used to harm instead of aid. Those people who can be most discriminating are called upon to lead us all.