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I love that they are weaponizing the perceived kindness of senior citizens in this way. Many of the victims of scams are some of the nicest people ever that wer

I love that they are weaponizing the perceived kindness of senior citizens in this way. Many of the victims of scams are some of the nicest people ever that were taken advantage of in some capacity - usually while trying to help someone. It's the digital age equivalent of staging a broken down cart and then robbing some old folks. I think most of us hate the idea of the "solution" being to not go near anyone with a broken down cart out of fear. I'm not saying this fixes everything, but I would rather a world where scammers odds at making a living at this are so poor they won't bother versus a world where everyone has to block every number by default and live in metaphorical bunkers to never interact because you might be a scammer.

e-khadem 2y ago
> I would rather a world where scammers odds at making a living at this are so poor they won't bother Then what's stopping the scammers from finding another "evil" job that makes money? You have to remember that humans tend to not enjoy accomplishing thievery and the scammers most often do this out of necessity. Of course there are big call center operators who truly are terrible people, but this conclusion is true for the bulk of their workforce.
- CarpaDorada 2y ago
  The big call center operators usually have political backing too.
- botanical76 2y ago
  What is your suggestion? It seems like you could discourage any form of preventative action against immoral behaviour this way. There is _always_ something worse than the problem at hand.
  - ddtaylor 2y ago
    It's a very common way of justifying poor behavior or criminal activity. It's basically "if they didn't sell the drugs someone else would" or "if they didnt steal someone else would" etc.
- ddtaylor 2y ago
  > You have to remember that humans tend to not enjoy accomplishing thievery and the scammers most often do this out of necessity. There are endless ways to earn an honest living. Nobody stealing from vulnerable people and the mentally degraded is forced to. I fully believe that people can survive without scamming seniors for a paycheck.

e-khadem 2y ago

> I would rather a world where scammers odds at making a living at this are so poor they won't bother Then what's stopping the scammers from finding another "evil" job that makes money? You have to remember that humans tend to not enjoy accomplishing thievery and the scammers most often do this out of necessity. Of course there are big call center operators who truly are terrible people, but this conclusion is true for the bulk of their workforce.

CarpaDorada 2y ago
The big call center operators usually have political backing too.
botanical76 2y ago
What is your suggestion? It seems like you could discourage any form of preventative action against immoral behaviour this way. There is _always_ something worse than the problem at hand.
- ddtaylor 2y ago
  It's a very common way of justifying poor behavior or criminal activity. It's basically "if they didn't sell the drugs someone else would" or "if they didnt steal someone else would" etc.
ddtaylor 2y ago
> You have to remember that humans tend to not enjoy accomplishing thievery and the scammers most often do this out of necessity. There are endless ways to earn an honest living. Nobody stealing from vulnerable people and the mentally degraded is forced to. I fully believe that people can survive without scamming seniors for a paycheck.