3 ms·

> What's the big secret upper middle class people are juicy targets, rich enough to get some profit, not enough to have proper security. what could go wrong ex

> What's the big secret upper middle class people are juicy targets, rich enough to get some profit, not enough to have proper security. what could go wrong exposing them all in a nice list, indexed and sortable, right?

jacknews 7y ago
Juicy targets for those scheming criminal lower classes? How is public financial exposure different from living in an affluent area, having an expensive car, etc, etc?
- cbg0 7y ago
  Well, you can live in a not-so-affluent area and drive an average car and be very well off, as some people do to avoid attracting attention. On the other hand, someone driving an expensive car is not necessarily well off, there are quite a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck that drive "expensive" cars.
  - jacknews 7y ago
    And so how are you then "at risk" if you live modestly, since there is little to rob? Kidnap? It seems a little ridiculous for most cases.
    - adventured 7y ago
      > And so how are you then "at risk" if you live modestly, since there is little to rob? I know a guy - we'll call him Mr. Frugal - he's worth, I'd estimate, $5 to $10 million based on what I know about his income and assets over the last 30 years (I know a fair bit to make that estimation). An old family friend, he's in his 70s at this point. He built his wealth from nothing, very slowly, and is a notorious penny pincher (the most extreme version of it I've ever seen). He lives in the same house he has owned since the 1960s; it's worth $150k-$175k today. This man would be a very ripe target for any number of schemes. Targeting his bank accounts / investment accounts / personal identity, credit, and so on. That's entirely ignoring any kidnapping or blackmail type risks. It doesn't take more than a few moments of consideration to understand how his finances being made so public would make him a target for all sorts of criminals. That despite the fact that he lives very modestly and there is nothing in his home to indicate such wealth. His wealth is held outside of his home, and that's where you would target him. Frankly, given this is HN, I think it's pretty silly obvious that the physical contents of a home often are not the best target for thieves / criminals today.
- SapporoChris 7y ago
  You might consider reading The Millionaire Next Door, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door One of the big surprises in the book was the number of millionaires that live very modest lifestyles. They become millionaires and stay millionaires because they don't change their frugal spending habits. Now certainly these people living modestly don't have assets at home that are juicy targets, but they would be juicy targets for kidnapping and extortion.
  - TheLuddite 7y ago
    Maybe this will force them to start spending their money and enjoy life? If they don´t - someone else will take their stash and have fun with it. Win-win.
  - michaelt 7y ago
    I think the point jacknews is making is: Today, 40% of people with a given wealth level show it off, and 60% keep it quiet. If tomorrow nobody could keep it quiet, it doesn't mean the 60% would all get kidnapped, because today the 40% aren't getting kidnapped.
- LoSboccacc 7y ago
  how unimaginative. it's the golden pot for identity fraud. it's a prime target for marketers and scammers. heck, even if you only disclose income data and tax paid, by the amount of tax deducted from the total and comparing it with historical data there's a good chance to figure out if someone had large medical expenses.

jacknews 7y ago

Juicy targets for those scheming criminal lower classes? How is public financial exposure different from living in an affluent area, having an expensive car, etc, etc?

cbg0 7y ago
Well, you can live in a not-so-affluent area and drive an average car and be very well off, as some people do to avoid attracting attention. On the other hand, someone driving an expensive car is not necessarily well off, there are quite a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck that drive "expensive" cars.
- jacknews 7y ago
  And so how are you then "at risk" if you live modestly, since there is little to rob? Kidnap? It seems a little ridiculous for most cases.
  - adventured 7y ago
    > And so how are you then "at risk" if you live modestly, since there is little to rob? I know a guy - we'll call him Mr. Frugal - he's worth, I'd estimate, $5 to $10 million based on what I know about his income and assets over the last 30 years (I know a fair bit to make that estimation). An old family friend, he's in his 70s at this point. He built his wealth from nothing, very slowly, and is a notorious penny pincher (the most extreme version of it I've ever seen). He lives in the same house he has owned since the 1960s; it's worth $150k-$175k today. This man would be a very ripe target for any number of schemes. Targeting his bank accounts / investment accounts / personal identity, credit, and so on. That's entirely ignoring any kidnapping or blackmail type risks. It doesn't take more than a few moments of consideration to understand how his finances being made so public would make him a target for all sorts of criminals. That despite the fact that he lives very modestly and there is nothing in his home to indicate such wealth. His wealth is held outside of his home, and that's where you would target him. Frankly, given this is HN, I think it's pretty silly obvious that the physical contents of a home often are not the best target for thieves / criminals today.
SapporoChris 7y ago
You might consider reading The Millionaire Next Door, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door One of the big surprises in the book was the number of millionaires that live very modest lifestyles. They become millionaires and stay millionaires because they don't change their frugal spending habits. Now certainly these people living modestly don't have assets at home that are juicy targets, but they would be juicy targets for kidnapping and extortion.
- TheLuddite 7y ago
  Maybe this will force them to start spending their money and enjoy life? If they don´t - someone else will take their stash and have fun with it. Win-win.
- michaelt 7y ago
  I think the point jacknews is making is: Today, 40% of people with a given wealth level show it off, and 60% keep it quiet. If tomorrow nobody could keep it quiet, it doesn't mean the 60% would all get kidnapped, because today the 40% aren't getting kidnapped.
LoSboccacc 7y ago
how unimaginative. it's the golden pot for identity fraud. it's a prime target for marketers and scammers. heck, even if you only disclose income data and tax paid, by the amount of tax deducted from the total and comparing it with historical data there's a good chance to figure out if someone had large medical expenses.