#2986 by Jack Smith
Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:22 pm
Like Anna Smith, I do only phone warnings now. I'd say I actually reach about 75% of the victims identified--the rest either can't be found in any phone directory or don't have a working phone anyway.
Of the ones I reach, in about 25% of the cases I have to be satisfied with leaving a voice mail along with my email address and this website. Of the ones I talk to, almost all recognize that there's a scam going on. I'd say 99% agree that someone is trying to scam them.
The remaining 1% that insist on believing in the scam are the real heartbreakers, by the way. I can see that they are about to lose everything they own, and they just persist in believing that I'm just stirring up trouble or that I'm angling to get some of "their" money for myself.
Of the ones that agree that a scam is going on, a lot of them don't want to acknowledge that they have been scammed or almost scammed. That's OK! Tell me you are too smart to be scammed, tell me you haven't sent any money, tell me you saw right through it all, tell me anything you want, as long as you break off all contact with the scammer. That's the whole point of the warning, and there's no need for a confession of any sort. Just getting the warning across and knowing that the scam isn't going to work for the scammer is plenty good enough for me (heck, it feels great!).
Finally, about 10% of the people I talk to actually admit they were about to be scammed but tell me that I've made a difference to them and now they won't lose the money. That feels great too.
Of the ones I reach, in about 25% of the cases I have to be satisfied with leaving a voice mail along with my email address and this website. Of the ones I talk to, almost all recognize that there's a scam going on. I'd say 99% agree that someone is trying to scam them.
The remaining 1% that insist on believing in the scam are the real heartbreakers, by the way. I can see that they are about to lose everything they own, and they just persist in believing that I'm just stirring up trouble or that I'm angling to get some of "their" money for myself.
Of the ones that agree that a scam is going on, a lot of them don't want to acknowledge that they have been scammed or almost scammed. That's OK! Tell me you are too smart to be scammed, tell me you haven't sent any money, tell me you saw right through it all, tell me anything you want, as long as you break off all contact with the scammer. That's the whole point of the warning, and there's no need for a confession of any sort. Just getting the warning across and knowing that the scam isn't going to work for the scammer is plenty good enough for me (heck, it feels great!).
Finally, about 10% of the people I talk to actually admit they were about to be scammed but tell me that I've made a difference to them and now they won't lose the money. That feels great too.
