BBC Watchdog

[Beefy198]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/...and_money.html

Excellent! They even have the whole report online for your amusement/amazement

Watch and learn so that you too don't fall prey to the very believable story of the "American man who happens to have a sick son at a Nigerian boarding school oh wait he nicked my money but don't worry if I give the Nigerian government £500 they'll sort it out for me oh damn they've done it again" scam

[threaded]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/...and_money.html

Excellent! They even have the whole report online for your amusement/amazement

Watch and learn so that you too don't fall prey to the very believable story of the "American man who happens to have a sick son at a Nigerian boarding school oh wait he nicked my money but don't worry if I give the Nigerian government £500 they'll sort it out for me oh damn they've done it again" scam

Oh the poor woman. You shouldn't mock. It's all too easy to see the dominoes when it is laid out like this.

None of you lot have ever got conned have you, no...

And I'd wager for way more than she has.

Agent told me it was a permie/contract job but turned out to be contract/permie. Agent wants 2 'references'. Agent says they only take 10%. Agent says the customer won't go that high. Agent asks what is your minimum rate.

And those guys aren't even Nigerian.

So think on it, boys and girls and don't be so horrid.

[manstein]

I thought you'd made that story up!

It's astounding to think there really are still people in the world that when they hear the words 'Nigeria' and 'Internet' in the same sentence don't automatically think something is fishy?

I'm sure there must be honest Nigerian firms operating online but it must be an uphill battle everyday.

[Board Game Geek]

There are a number of factors involved in the successful operation of a scam, such as choosing the right sort of target, setting out a credible story, and so on.

The reason so many of these scams work, is that they essentially appeal to other people's emotions, be they guilt, greed or whatever.

Generally speaking, most people are inherently trusting of others, since cooperation with other people is a necessary social tool for survival.

If you read any of Derren Brown's books, such as Tricks of the Mind, you will see how ridiculously easy it is seduce the unwary, and rather more worringly, how easy it is to seduce even the cynical and suspicious.

No one is immune, because we all have psychological triggers that can have the propensity for overriding our commonsense and caution.

Once you are in that territory, a skilled conman will allay any concerns you have and continue to develop the spiel.

Contrary to popular belief, not all members of the electorate are stupid untersmench, and some very intelligent people have been seduced in to voting for Labour.

I rest my case.

(Or other despised party of your choice)

[TimberWolf]

If you read any of Derren Brown's books, such as Tricks of the Mind, you will see how ridiculously easy it is seduce the unwary, and rather more worringly, how easy it is to seduce even the cynical and suspicious.

No one is immune, because we all have psychological triggers that can have the propensity for overriding our commonsense and caution.

Got any examples you can share - and by asking have I just fallen for a scam?

[shaunbhoy]

?

I'm sure there must be honest Nigerian firms operating online

I'm not!

[darmstadt]

May I congratulate you all on being so fortunate as to know such a
lucky person as me?

This week I have won no fewer than four international lotteries! One
in Nigeria - well let's face it the Nigerian people are totally sick
of the frequency with which I trouser millions of dollars from their
country. One in Europe, Spain I think it was, and an eastern European
one who want to pay me in dollars for some reason. Today I have capped
a profitable seven days by winning in Thailand. In total somewhere
near six and a half million dollars/Euros.

I think it is unfair for one person to have all this luck so if you
would like to send me all your money I will buy lottery tickets for
you and who knows by this time next week you too could be a multi-
millionaire! We could even all go into partnership and buy the English
Premiere League back from foreigners with their own money, wouldn't
that be ironic.

[teclo]

I kept the pre-payment meter in my flat when I moved in, after one year in another place I received a rather large electricity bill that seemed to come out of no where.

The scam really is, if you had the old meter that took the £5 cards, you would have had to get the meter updated with new tariffs every time they changed. So when prices go up / down, you need someone to come out and reprogram the meter.

I was not aware of this and got hit by a bill from ScottishPower for well ove £300. My meter hadn't been updated for over 4 years, it had been read but not updated. My fault I guess but who would ever think about it? I didn't.

The new style prepayment meters are better, these are the ones with the dongle. When you use the paypoint terminal to pay for electricity, details are updated on the dongle so the meter keeps up with the current tariffs.