America's Worsening Gullibility Problem

[wenwilder]

America's Worsening Gullibility Problem

A 73-year-old retired electronics specialist sat for a long interview in December in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, patiently explaining that the $300,000 nest egg he had just lost on a familiar Nigerian scam was really the fault of "corrupt governments" and not the dishonesty of his Nigerian "friends" who had no choice but to ask him to pay ever-escalating investment amounts. The man repeatedly insisted that his "friends" couldn't possibly be scammers, but toward the end of the two-hour interview, finally remembered that they "never did really explain how they got my name." [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12-23-03]

Former Harvard professor Weldong Xu, who was arrested in March for his alleged scheme to bilk colleagues out of $600,000 to fund a bogus SARS research institute in China, admitted to Boston police that he spent part of the money on what the detectives recognized as a traditional Nigerian money-laundering scam, although Xu aggressively insisted that it was a legitimate deal. Said Detective Steve Blair, "(The Harvard professor) never caught on." [Boston Herald, 3-31-04]

[EJRS.COM]

Didn't you hear?
They took the word "gullible" out of the dictionary.

[esiegel]

Originally Posted by EJRS.COM

Didn't you hear?
They took the word "gullible" out of the dictionary.

No they didn't...I just looked in mine (the one I used in college) and 'gullible' is still in there.

[sonnie]

Originally Posted by esiegel

No they didn't...I just looked in mine (the one I used in college) and 'gullible' is still in there.

esiegel: From EJRS do you now know the meaning of "gullible"?

[esiegel]

Originally Posted by sonnie

esiegel: From EJRS do you now know the meaning of "gullible"?

Yes...'cause I looked it up!

[dpd1998]

As found on Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

You may use this tool freely
http://www.hometownlinks.com/study_a..._thesaurus.htm

One entry found for gullible.

Main Entry: gull·ible
Variant(s): also gull·able /'g&-l&-b&l/
Function: adjective
: easily duped or cheated
- gull·ibil·i·ty /"g&-l&-'bi-l&-tE/ noun
- gull·ibly /'g&-l&-blE/ adverb

[sonnie]

Originally Posted by esiegel

Yes...'cause I looked it up!

Ha Ha .... gullible
Don't you get it?
Take care, Sonnie

[ldyguique]

Each of us is the sum-total of all of our life experiences at any point along the way. Now, it's also possible to have a life experience and not understand what it was or why it happened, and never really think about it in-depth again--a fairly common situation for many. So, for some, the sum-total can be missing fundamental information. Ergo, chronic or ongoing gullibility.

How many people do you know who keep falling in love with a particular personality type, only to discover that Mr/MissRight = Mr/MissWrong? Their excuse(s) run somewhat along the lines of, "he SAID!!!" or "she PROMISED!!!" YaHUH!

Frankly, I really don't know which is worse -- to be so cynical and jaded as to disbelieve just about anyone or to keep an idealism that always gives credence to the words of another.

How does one keep the door open to the joy of surprise and not also let every bloodsucking insect come flying through it?

Although, most who fall for versions of the Nigerian scam also have more than a faint odor of cheater about them and fall in the category of "You can't cheat an honest man." Someone who managed to save aside $300,000 as a nestegg AND managed to risk it all is less gullible and more gambler. He wanted to believe and keep in believin' cus he didn't want to face the fact that he thought he could cheat someone else or "get something for nothing."

I never loan another person money. I may use the word loan, but I accept that it's a gift. Once it's out of my hands, it's likely gone for good. And, I've paid more than one person to "get out of my life," with a loan -- cus, they immediately start avoiding when the so-called loan is due and payable.

NO one saves for a lifetime and then spends it foolishly because they are gullible. He thought his "Nigerian friends" were the gullible ones.

Ahhhh, I'm such a cynic :)

[ldyguique]

Since the "Nigerian Scam" has surfaced in multiple postings recently, it's time for Scam-O-Rama!!!

Now, I realize that the url for Scam-O-Rama aka "The Lads from Lagos," has been posted a couple of times in the past; however, since time moves on and new members join, etc., it's "that" time again. If you want to laugh until you have tears rolling down your cheeks or need to change your undies, do check it out. Plus, I guarantee you will never ever fall for the Nigerian Scam, in whatever guise it happens to come your way.

First of all, there are a handful of people who get their kicks by responding to and developing correspondence with the would-be scammers. Since they are a creative log, they have become adept at developing "multiple personalities" for their counter scams. Such as an April 2004 addition for:

OVER 1000 MUGUS SERVED! - long, fun read from Mac Nughette, Juan Freizwidatt & Friends

Cast of characters:
Jose Randy (aka Prince) - typical 419er
Ron Reynolds - naive victim
Mack Nughette - Ron's "smart" cousin
Juan Freizwidatt - Crooked lawyer
Sue Percise - Freizwidatt's secretary, and Ron's new love interest

I have to admit that I very nearly lost it. No one should laugh that hard at a computer!

I had applied the term "speculative fiction" to define IRC chat a long time ago. Obviously, speculative fiction is alive and well in other internet locales.

Another one that mixes subtle Spanish (misused or mistranslated) AND Star Trek is also of particular note:

KEEPING UP WITH THE COJONES.
updated apr22

Dear Kind Postmaster,
... I did manage to get this particular lad ... to call the Federales....that is, the Mexican Federal Police! I chose the Tijuana office of the Federales....figured I would give them something to draw their attention away from shaking down American motorists in Baja California.

I hope that you get as much laughs out of this as I did.
BEEP!! BEEP!!
Captain Christopher Pike

Cast of Characters:
Captain Christopher Pike, scambaiter
Mr. Isaac Bamu, scambaitee
Commodore Jose Mendez, Star Fleet Academy

The Mexican Federal Police, " The Federales", Tijuana BC Mexico, appear as themselves.

Captain Pike is checking his email address, where he comes upon a lucrative offer involving defaced US currency.

It's a great timewaster to read through these scambaiting posting; plus, after one reads through enough of the links, there is NO WAY that one would ever fall for any scams of this ilk.

[Andilinks]

I don't think America's Gullibility Problem is Worsening. So, I think the premise of this thread is wrong, but it does point to a serious and real problem.

There have always been and will always be gullible people. The Internet has made it possible for the scammers to compare notes more easily and possible for us to more easily hear about the outrageous scams.

The public is becoming more sophisticated about scams, but the very nature of scams is that they must stay one step ahead.

New media are always developing, and new scams will follow the naive there. The problem is not getting worse though, we are becoming more aware of it--and that's good. And the more aware we become, the more outrageous the gullible will seem.

I recall the first spams that I received, they were chain letters sometime in early 1994. Spam has come a long way since then and chain letters still circulate somewhere I'm sure. I had never heard of the Nigerian scams back then, and I doubt I'd have fallen for one (I never have) but it wouldn't have been QUITE so laughable back then.

But the public is slowly learning. I think I can point to the steady but uneven progress of civilization through the ages as proof that humans can learn. Much too slow, but getting faster.

Andi

[EJRS.COM]

It all stems from our insecurity with who we are. We believe we need to be successful and rich and would do anything to gain wealth by such means.
People who are greedy for more are the ones who would be quick to fall for such devious get-rich-quick schemes.

[Andilinks]

Originally Posted by EJRS.COM

We believe we need to be successful and rich and would do anything to gain wealth by such means.

Perhaps you are writing about some group that you belong to. I don't consider myself a part of that "we," thank you very much. :)

But I certainly understand what you are saying, and the fault lies in the desire to believe something that is too good to be true. Here we are getting to the very definition of "gullible."

I suppose children are not exposed to scammers and thieves early enough and are sent out into the world thinking that everyone is honest. The flaw in that idea is that the elderly seem to be more gullible than the young, which would bolster Wen's argument that gullibility is increasing...

So here I go refuting my earlier assertion if that is true. It may be a generational thing, or do the elderly just get more gullible with age?

Andi

[EJRS.COM]

Sadly tho no human is free from insecurity.
welcome to the human race...

[ldyguique]

I dunno about it being an age thing -- I'm certainly one of the older people who come in here and I'm really quite skeptical. Or, rather, I simply have fewer and fewer false expectations about other people. I grant most people about 75% trust from the getgo -- I trust them to behave according to societal norms and standards. As they prove otherwise, they drop in percentage points -- at about 60%, they lack credibility to be much more than decorative human objects -- and, at 50% I cease to see them.

In other words, I've been learning throughout a lifetime about human nature.

Some noteworthy individuals raise from 75% into the 90s. At this point, I trust them to behave as they've previously proven themselves and that their personal sense of honor is strong and well-entrenched. I accept their human foiables and flaws as being simply part of them. They have an integrated personality that balances. They have integrity.

I've lived too long to believe that all people will do as they say (or have done as they've said).

As for scams, I suppose the criteria that ScamORama lays out pretty well works for me and my own brand of skepticism:

Last but really first: do you honestly believe that someone who claims to have stolen millions of dollars is

**someone you want to deal with
**smart enough to steal a LOT of money but somehow unable to move the funds on his own
**will transfer it to a complete stranger (you) in hopes that you will give back 80% of it

[Andilinks]

Originally Posted by EJRS.COM

welcome to the human race...

eeewwww... they said it was temporary. oh well... :)

Originally Posted by ldyguique

I dunno about it being an age thing...

I certainly don't mean there is a one-to-one correspondence with people growing more gullible or more skeptical with age. But the elderly are more often the victim of scams which means that there is some correlation there. Typically they are scammed more often by phone boiler-room operations, or door-to door home improvement scams. So it doesn't surprise me that they might fall victim on the Internet more often.

I think the young have so grown up with TV ads that they have come to expect lies and deception while people who grew up before TV was common may lack this.

The elderly grew up in an earlier time when trust was more taken for granted. I do know from my own experience with elderly relatives that they are often more naive about these things.

Now if you, ldyguique are offering yourself up as a typical older person you are very wrong. You are Internet savvy, just your experience on a message board like this alone would give you experience that most people lack.

Andi

[trsiyengar]

Wen's post show us the greed of human. When some one is trapped in his own bait, is he or she gullible?

EJRS.COM wrote:
Sadly tho no human is free from insecurity.

It is the society we are part of it. To make them secure, keep them happy, earning atleast their daily two square meals.

Andilink wrote:
The elderly grew up in an earlier time when trust was more taken for granted. I do know from my own experience with elderly relatives that they are often more naive about these things.

It was way back generations! Mutual trust, helping tendency, liberal moves, no aparthied then! And now?

Namasthe Everyone,
TRS Iyengar

[xmx]

I feel sorry for the gullible ones, don't you?

I think that only 0.0001% of the receivers of nigerian scam business proposals don't find absurd to spend great amounts of money without a guarantee of cashing the money.

And when after a first payment arrives a second request of money there should be all the alarm leds blinking and a hand that moves itself toward the phone with the police number already scheduled.

[volkoman]

Wow... I just got my first overseas sales offer today... and he dosent care how much it costs???

--------------------

original message from

"larry ben" <larry_ben2000@yahoo.co.uk

HELLO SALES,
MY NAME IS LARRY AND I RESIDES IN USA .I WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE A PRODUCT,BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEND THIS ORDER TO MY STORE IN NIGERIA.ALSO I WOULD LIKE PAY FOR THIS ORDER BY CREDIT CARD AS MY FORM OF PAYMENT IF YOU DON'T MIND. I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOONEST ABOUT THE TOTAL COSTS AND SHIPPING OF THIS
ORDER TO LAGOS NIGERIA.
THANKS.

----------------------------

Cool...With this sale and the $2500000 I'll make helping Mrs Arubu bring $25000000 into the country ...I can finally afford the bridge thats for sale in Brooklyn..

Now where is that big red button that says "do not push"