OT: Are People Really Dumb Enough?

[Baron Munchausen]

I recall seeing a news story a few month ago about some secretary who used her access to the business accounts, yes, boss's money, to answer one of these scams. Guess she thought she'd be patted on the back for making them some money? Sent more than 2 million dollars off into the ether. Oops...

[Gryphin]

A story of a tech journalist yanking their chain.
What happens when you do reply:
http://www.silicon.com/news/500019/1/2928.html

[Loser]

Originally posted by rdouglass:
I read somewhere recently that Interpol estimated that on any given day there are 4 people somewhere in the world waiting in a hotel lobby for a guy from Nigeria...

If there were any chance you could find where that quote came from... well... it would be real keen.

I would almost pay petty amounts of money to hear a major U.S. news anchor say exactly that.

As for people being dumb, I suppose there have always been con men. The internet, and mass mailing, just gives them a new way to find a ripe mark. "Three Card Monte", "Selling the Brooklyn Bridge", "Florida Real Estate", and now this. Just a long procession.

But a mass mailed scam as fantastic as this is pretty low...

[dreamplace]

My boss got this same mail about 3 months ago. It's letter format with a hand writing signature in a envelope with beautiful South Africa stamps.

Then my boss show it to us and say "who will that stupid enough ....?!" he post it on message board and make everyone LOL.

[rdouglass]

Originally posted by Loser:
If there were any chance you could find where that quote came from... well... it would be real keen....

Well I miss quoted it a little - I was quoting from memory. But here is the actual paragraph:

If it weren't so serious, it would be comical. The National Criminal Intelligence Service estimates that up to five Americans are waiting in London hotel lobbies every day to meet people connected with Nigerian e-mail scams. Codenamed 419, the con trick is one of the most pervasive in the rising tide of spam - the buzz word for unwanted e-mail - that is clogging inboxes the world over.

And here is the URL:

http://www.derekwyattmp.co.uk/nation...-01-03_st.html

Kinda' scary there are so many people without a lot 'on the ball'. We should be telling them something like: "Don't go upstairs without a flashlight!"

[Fyron]

OT: Are People Really Dumb Enough?

Yes. Definitely yes. I don't even know what your post asks, but the answer to this question is pretty much always yes.

[Loser]

Originally posted by rdouglass:
But here is the actual paragraph:

Whoo-hoo!

Thanks, that's great!