OT: Are People Really Dumb Enough?

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Erax:
Why all the anger all of a sudden ? What have these guys ever done to you, other than provide a few laughs ?

Rest assured that they are making a profit from their operation, otherwise they would have moved on to something else long ago.

I also got one of these emails from Hong Kong, BTW.

Unfortunately true. Some people are falling for this and are keeping them in business.

But hey, many of us fall for the lotteries. Most only pay out 50% or less of what they take in.

If you look at the fact that on average we will only win 50 cents of each dollar we put in, some of us may think twice about buying another ticket.

But the big win is alluring and the fact that most lottery players get only a couple percent return on their investment does not stop them from playing.

Similiarly, the big win is the allure in this scam. The fact that a persons chance of winning is virtually zero is not much different from the lottery where the odds are more than a million to one.

It is arguable that the difference is only one of degree. Or the fact that one is legal and the other isn't.

But it still comes down to the fact that in both cases, the huge majority of "players" do not come out winners in the long run.