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I feel like fraud is America's fastest growing sector, and that frightens me a lot. The burden of proof is far too much on the consumer, and even what should be

I feel like fraud is America's fastest growing sector, and that frightens me a lot. The burden of proof is far too much on the consumer, and even what should be slam dunk cases are not investigated. A coworker bought an expensive camera from Japan. The seller sent him tracking info and serial number. He was excited for days for it to arrive, and when it did he got an empty box. A few days later, an e-bay listing for the same, rare model of camera showed up in the area. He called the number, got a call back, and caller ID matched a dude who matched the name of his delivery driver and was listed on Facebook as a working for the company. Should be a slam dunk, right? Police were thoroughly uninterested in a $1500 item that was incredibly obvious. Insurance simply paid out. I've had my credit card stolen twice times, including one that was clearly part of the target hack , though wasn't obvious at the time - at the time, it was simply a fraudulent charge that my bank caught despite being made at my local target (which itself gives me pause, because how did they know it wasn't me?) That happened in the right time range. Most people I know have had it happen to them. Quite frankly, I've known several unclassy people who have engaged in such behavior - they pretty much bragged about it, and so I stopped hanging with groups that would allow them to join (and then laughed when reading Facebook posts from former friends that they were dealing with said fraud)

WalterBright 8y ago
If people brag to you about cheating/conning/lying/stealing/suing, they'll do it to you sooner or later. If they tell you other peoples' secrets, you can be sure they'll be telling others your confidences.
- kkielhofner 8y ago
  It's likely mis-attributed (or made up entirely) but there's a story I seem to recall about Teddy Roosevelt. He fired a ranch hand for stealing a neighbor's cattle. Someone asked him "Why would you do that?" he responded with: "Anyone who steals from my neighbor has no problem stealing from me".
55555 8y ago
In conversations about scams, a lot of people blame the victim or say something like, "well just don't be a sucker", or claim to take a very naturalistic view where we're all dogs just trying to become top dog. I've thought about this, and I think a big part of it is that the people who say that believe themselves to be decent people but ultimately want to leave open the option of acting scummy themselves in the future (because it makes your life easier) or perhaps have acted scummy in the past, or currently, and they want to avoid cognitive dissonance. You can't admit that it's wrong and keep doing it without thinking you're a crappy person. So be very wary of people who show a hesitance to empathize with victims. On another note, our government and society as a whole just doesn't give a damn about victim-assisted fraud. There are cases where billions of dollars have been stollen from pensioners and it is obvious who is responsible (often an open secret) but nothing is ever done. If you want to make money being a terrible person just commit victim-assisted fraud and spread each crime across multiple jurisdictions.
- Nasrudith 8y ago
  I can see a few other aspects behind this. First is "I learned it by watching you" - people become fiscally successful without merit through scumbaggery which promotes a cynical view that ethics are for keeping suckers in line. Second is a "don't feed the trolls" thing. By falling for it they actively make the problem worse even for people who are savvy. If nobody fell for spam and scams they would go out of business. Finally the classic victim blaming for mental security, just world and such. I won't be scammed because I'm not a moron. I won't suffer police brutality because I'm not a criminal.

WalterBright 8y ago

If people brag to you about cheating/conning/lying/stealing/suing, they'll do it to you sooner or later. If they tell you other peoples' secrets, you can be sure they'll be telling others your confidences.

kkielhofner 8y ago
It's likely mis-attributed (or made up entirely) but there's a story I seem to recall about Teddy Roosevelt. He fired a ranch hand for stealing a neighbor's cattle. Someone asked him "Why would you do that?" he responded with: "Anyone who steals from my neighbor has no problem stealing from me".

55555 8y ago

In conversations about scams, a lot of people blame the victim or say something like, "well just don't be a sucker", or claim to take a very naturalistic view where we're all dogs just trying to become top dog. I've thought about this, and I think a big part of it is that the people who say that believe themselves to be decent people but ultimately want to leave open the option of acting scummy themselves in the future (because it makes your life easier) or perhaps have acted scummy in the past, or currently, and they want to avoid cognitive dissonance. You can't admit that it's wrong and keep doing it without thinking you're a crappy person. So be very wary of people who show a hesitance to empathize with victims. On another note, our government and society as a whole just doesn't give a damn about victim-assisted fraud. There are cases where billions of dollars have been stollen from pensioners and it is obvious who is responsible (often an open secret) but nothing is ever done. If you want to make money being a terrible person just commit victim-assisted fraud and spread each crime across multiple jurisdictions.

Nasrudith 8y ago
I can see a few other aspects behind this. First is "I learned it by watching you" - people become fiscally successful without merit through scumbaggery which promotes a cynical view that ethics are for keeping suckers in line. Second is a "don't feed the trolls" thing. By falling for it they actively make the problem worse even for people who are savvy. If nobody fell for spam and scams they would go out of business. Finally the classic victim blaming for mental security, just world and such. I won't be scammed because I'm not a moron. I won't suffer police brutality because I'm not a criminal.