OT: Why Do Scammers Scam?

[marzoumanian]

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been scammed. That’s what I thought. I’ve been scammed multiple times in my life. Here’s one for you. Years ago, I bought a raw 1952 Topps common baseball card. Then I stored it in a shoebox and didn’t look at it for years. Now, if I had just taken the time to put that card up against any other 1952 common before I bought it, I would have quickly seen with my bare eyes that it had been trimmed. Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit.
A couple of months ago I was almost scammed when I took my old watch to a kiosk at Water Tower Place here in Chicago. It was running slow. The guy tested the battery and told me it was fine. He then offered to have it fully checked out at the main office. But it would cost me a minimum of $100. My late dad gave me the watch. I said okay.
A month later I got a call from the company saying it would cost me $305 to have it repaired. But they would give me a discount and only charge me $275. That’s when a red light flashed in my head. Something is fishy. Cutting to the chase, I got the watch back and took it to Franko’s Jewelry & Watch Repair in downtown Chicago, by the Art Institute. It turns out my battery was dying. Franko replaced it for $10, cash. My watch has been running beautifully ever since.
Scammers take advantage of our natural desire to trust. When you’re scammed you say to yourself, “But I’ve done nothing to this person. Why would he or she rip me off?” Because they’re lazy and looking to make easy money at your expense. And most importantly, they suffer from, “I’m the smartest person in the room” syndrome.
All too often they will get away with duping their victims for months or even years. Just look at what fraudster Bernie Madoff was able to pull off. He lied repeatedly and then lied some more whenever challenged. The only reason why he was finally caught was because clients demanded their money back ASAP when the Great Recession hit.
As a (retired) vintage baseball card collector who reads the message boards regularly, I’ve concluded that no matter how badly I would want any card I would never advertise this need on the internet. To me it’s like putting a Post-it note on your forehead that says, “I’m open to deception.” I know that’s harsh. But unrepentant fraudsters are looking for people like you. You’re telling them that you really want that card or piece of sports memorabilia and are eager to pay. When I was actively collecting I would practice patience, searching the internet regularly and going to card shows until I found the item in the exact condition I wanted. Sure, it took me more time. But this method greatly reduced the risk that I would get taken.
What’s going on in a scammer’s mind? According to Dr. Thomas Plante, psychology professor at Stanford and Santa Clara University, they have no empathy for other people. If you were scammed by me, their thinking goes, it’s your fault, dummy.
He adds that many scammers start small and initially get away with fooling customers, especially if they’re using the internet to dupe them. When they see that they’re getting away with ripping people off for small amounts (say, less than $100) they become emboldened. That’s often when they finally get caught. Someone will say they’re not going to take this. They complain.
Let’s face it. People who don’t want to get up each day and put in an honest day’s work will often resort to trolling the internet looking for ways to make an easy buck. I hate to say it but nowadays you constantly have to be on the lookout for people trying to take advantage of your natural tendency to trust. As I age, I find that one of the issues I struggle with is becoming overly cynical. I don’t always want to have my guard up. But whether it be looking for a vintage baseball card to buy on the internet (I usually stuck to the auction houses) or getting my watch repaired, I must sadly conclude that staying alert for a possible scam will always be a part of my DNA. And it should be a part of your DNA, too.

[RL]

To answer your question....

Because they can.

[steve B]

I'm not sure it's a lack of willingness to work, some scams and usually the most successful - at least in hobbies- take a lot more work than just legitimately buying and selling.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by RL

To answer your question....

Because they can.

Agreed!

And well said Mark, and nothing new. Some people have been trying to figure out how to cheat and swindle others out of what they have probably as long as humans have been around. And it will likely continue as long as we continue to exist, unfortunately.

[Bicem]

Lack of empathy for sure plays a role.

[Orioles1954]

I have a family member (now deceased) who was a scammer outside of this hobby. I'm completely ashamed that they did so. For them, it was a rush.

[Casey2296]

When I first started collecting pre-war as a naive 21 year old, I was taken by our local card shop owner, his name was John Ianacello, now deceased (rot in hell you POS), He sold me two 1933 Goudey Dover reprints as authentic after we had been doing business for quite awhile, I had very little money, we would talk about cards all the time and I trusted him so when I had saved enough for my first Babe Ruth card, a #181, he sold me a fake and he knew it.

We can all tell the difference between the two now, thanks to this sub but back then there wasn't any Net54 or anybody who knew about pre-war that I could turn to other than John. I didn't discover the ruse until years later, it broke my heart because I considered him a friend.

I still hold on to that Dover #181 Ruth today as a reminder to trust but verify. And because every card needs a thread here's what I replaced the Dover with when I got back into the hobby.
-

[JollyElm]

494. Leap Frauds
The hackers and scammers who continue to jump from one platform or account to another after being exposed time and time again.

See also: Whack-A-Troll - the endless pursuit of warning other collectors about new scam artists appearing on the scene.

See also: Scamster Wheel - the scumbag mindset of always searching for new and innovative ways to rip off people.

[G1911]

To make money.

[JimmyC]

Haters hate ….Haters cheat…..Haters steal…..lack of family, friends and God….plain and simple…..they don’t care about human life - they don’t care about anyone but themselves…..probably bad parenting along the way as well……

[5-Tool Player]

Originally Posted by JimmyC

Haters hate ….Haters cheat…..Haters steal…..lack of family, friends and God….plain and simple…..they don’t care about human life - they don’t care about anyone but themselves…..probably bad parenting along the way as well……

+1.....its TOO hard to work a regular job

[Bcwcardz]

There’s all kinds of different scammers too. Some are down right blatantly ripping you off and you know it. Then there are the ones that are more deceptive at scamming you. I’ve had some fraudulent items sold to me when I was younger as well from a LCS. I was told I was getting discounts and when I checked the guys website it was regular price. I was stuck with bogus McGwire and Sosa autos. By the time I figured it out the guy was out of business. The guy was in business for decades though. Maybe he was just oblivious but I doubt it. The only stuff I really trust from the guy was the upper deck authenticated stuff I got. I guess we live and learn


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[drcy]

Who do scammers scam? Because if they didn't scam they wouldn't be scammers. An unbreakable circle.

[Leon]

The answer to "why" people do things is most likely "money."
.

[marzoumanian]

I agree that it's all about money. So why did I write the post at this particular time? I noticed that the word "scam" was appearing more often in the subject line of posts.
I just would like members to not let the desire for any item overrule critical thinking. Thanks to the internet, we're dealing with people we have never met AND never done business with. So, look for red flags and please don't ignore them. Don't be afraid to back out of a deal if you feel uncomfortable.
What was the big red flag with Bernie Madoff? As you might recall, his statements to clients NEVER showed losses and, as I recall, on average went up 12 percent EVERY year. Every year. That simply does not happen with the stock market. All those statements were fake and thousands of his clients accepted them.
Enough said. If your gut says, "Wait a minute. There's something fishy here," please listen to it and act accordingly. Peace.

[ullmandds]

It's all about the money!!!!!

Times I've been ripped off I remember:

c1981 was sold a fake mayo monte ward card

c mid 80's bought a 71 topps munson whose borders had been filled in with marker

c1989 bought a fake fro joy sheet at the LCS in newark, DE

2019ish bought reprint play balls on ebay...I returned them

2022 bought fake christy mathewson commemorative disc from facebook auction

There have been other occasions but I did recover my funds.

as values have increased...so have the scammers!

[Mungo Hungo]

Just to balance things out, sometimes people actually are very generous and will go out of their way to send hard-to-find cards to strangers.

A month or so ago, I had a want list of just two cards, and posted about one of them on another forum. Someone I'd never met and never corresponded with asked for my address in a private message -- and sent me the card. From another country. He even declined to give me his own address, so I had no ability to pay him or send him anything in return.

It wasn't really a high value card, but has a population of less than 50, and from the fact that I was posting about it, it was clear that I would have been willing to pay a fair amount for it. But the guy who sent the card is a collector, not an investor.

Now I'm certainly not saying to trust people blindly. I also got an obvious scam email in response to my post. But if I hadn't posted at all, or had ignored the private message, I wouldn't have received the card, and my want list still would be at two rather than one.

[rjackson44]

Theres one giving out a free macbook just now on bst lol

[G1911]

Originally Posted by rjackson44

Theres one giving out a free macbook just now on bst lol

Just have to clean off the blood stains.

[rjackson44]

She was hit by a running car ,,no the car was stopped omg lol

[Georj]

Why hasn't anyone brought up Coaches Corner?

[rjackson44]

Lol

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

When I first started collecting pre-war as a naive 21 year old, I was taken by our local card shop owner, his name was John Ianacello, now deceased (rot in hell you POS),

Phil - self-described "Big John" got me good too and many, many others in our area.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by MooseDog

Phil - self-described "Big John" got me good too and many, many others in our area.

Was Big John the guy in the Bay Area that had a bunch of Raiders jerseys at his show tables in the late 1980s?

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Was Big John the guy in the Bay Area that had a bunch of Raiders jerseys at his show tables in the late 1980s?

Quite likely, he was offering a ton of fake autographs, fake game used stuff, he didn't know the difference. All he cared about was money.