DIERCKX & ASSOCIATES LTD

Scam artists are always on the lookout for attractive “marks”. “Marks are people that are the target of a scam artist. While we all have a chance of becoming such a mark, some individuals or businesses are more attractive than others. Are you a gullible person?

Contrary to what many people think, not all victims of a scam are stupid, naive or gullible, although it cannot be denied that such traits would certainly help the scam artist. The real issue is that at times we all can be gullible, naive or even stupid. Just to give you some reassurance on that, one well respected lawyer here in New Zealand called me and said, “here I am the fraud buster of (…) and I get conned myself for 1.5 million!” All of us could fall for a scam under the right circumstances.

I would go as far as to say that the surest way to be deceived at one point is by considering yourself smarter than others, by being overconfident that it will not happen to you because you are smarter than that.

I have seen and assisted a number of otherwise smart people that for some reason managed to fall for for instance Nigerian scams or Pyramid Schemes disguised as “legitimate MLM’s or as they prefer to call it nowadays; direct marketing or direct selling “business opportunities” where the only client your business will ever have is you yourself because no one else is interested in the overhyped and overpriced products.

The simple fact is that to some extent we all believe that it is possible to get something for nothing; we all are interested in a great bargain and that is exactly what the scam artist plays on. Or are you possibly someone with wild dreams; a gambler; greedy or needy; or just easy-going? Scam artists make it their profession to spot those personality traits and will find a way of using them for their own benefit. Some however are more attractive than others for the scam artist.

Attractive parties for the scam artist

People in financial distress

Ever since the economy worsened, I have been receiving more and more spam emails relating to hard-to-resist loan offers, bridge loans, business opportunities, work from home opportunities, and other schemes. Many people around the world are in dire circumstances and run a risk of losing their homes, cars and all these other valuables they have been working so hard for. On top of that years of overspending have seen many get up to their their ears in credit card debts and now the bank is not extending credit any further. And here he/she is, out of the blue: the guy or girl that can save your neck, financially and prestige-wise (because what would the neighbours say if they saw that repo agent knocking on your door?).

People in such circumstances are extremely vulnerable to accept too-good-to-be-true offers. They are blinded by their pressures and see a way out, thanks to this kind person that came at the right time and place.

Elderly

By far the most attractive and targeted group of people are the elderly and with many societies facing an ever-greying population, this is a rapidly expanding market for fraud. What makes them so attractive?

They are often more trusting, more easily confused, with a old mindset dating back to the good old days in which the possibility of being scammed out of their money was not as much of a possibility, and finally they are less on their guard. They are retired and are often alone, living a simpler life, (neglected sometimes by children and grandchildren) and go out less frequently (grocery store, bank, church). What makes them really attractive however is that very often they have a nest-egg tucked away somewhere that is just waiting to be scammed off them and… if they do get suckered they are more likely to stay quiet about it:

“what will my kids think? They will probably think I am no longer capable of looking after myself, and start looking around for one of these horrible retirement homes.”

For many elderly scammed such fears outweigh the financial losses.

Small business owners and businesses that have grown too fast

Small business owners and those businesses that have over-expanded too quickly are especially attractive for scammers as well internal and external fraudsters. Contrary to large corporations, they do not have internal accounting departments or even fraud departments or fully-manned security provisions. At the end of the day the business owner is just happy to close the door and remember the alarm code.

After dinner, tired from a long days’ work, he or she sits down to pay all the bills before going to bed. Accounting systems and the associated controls are usually limited and many of the control measures such as separation of duty are not or are marginally realized. The over-expanded business that grew too quickly faces similar problems, the organization may require a better control environment but

“we just did not get to it yet. We were too busy keeping up with the business itself.”

In these environments it is highly likely that fraudsters and scammers and their actions get overlooked and go unnoticed, especially if the fraud and scams are of a limited scale.

People with a personal problem

Sick people, people with low self-esteem because of the way they are dealt with, or with certain externally visible issues, are especially vulnerable for all kinds of scams, ranging from magical cures against all kinds of sicknesses, to a wide range of vanity scams, ranging from fat burners to fake modelling agencies to literary agents. If you have a weakness in any of these areas, some scammer will drop by to play on it.

People with shared beliefs or ethnic backgrounds

More recently we have seen how people from the Christian faith were targeted on dating sites and in congregations. There is this sense of almost immediate trust because “aren’t we all part of the same club?” Scam artists know how to work it, they gain trust by referring to this background and in the case of congregations, by trying to lure some of the more prominent members into their scheme first so that “the rest of the flock” will follow soon.

Similar mechanisms work within immigrant communities.

Stay safe be skeptic

Probably the best advise I can give you is:

• don’t be overconfident and think you are too smart to fall for the tricks of scam artists;
• be critical where your interest is raised and don’t stop asking questions until you fully understand what the actual “opportunity” is you are being offered;
• seek independent advise before you step into the next opportunity;
• do your own research. Google the opportunity or the people behind it or check at Complaints Board or Riff off Report
• don’t get pressured into anything, there will always be the next great opportunity;
• KEEP IN MIND THAT IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS!
• DON’T SIGN ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE GIVEN IT VERY CAREFUL CONSIDERATION!

Also see:

• Christian dating sites targeted by online dating scammers
• Friends that can’t be trusted
• Pyramid Scheme Alert
• Merchants of Deception
• Consumer.org.nz

Filed under: SCAMS AND SCHEMES, TIPS & TRICKS