Internet Scams - Are we really that stupid?

[Catch22]

Long story short...my wife turns 30 this year and she's always wanted a Nissan 300zx, the 1990-1994 versions.  Well, I've found quite a few advertised but it seems like 3 out of every 4 I respond to are just a scam.  I mean, the WAY too good to be true scam or the "you can't really believe I'd fall for this scam"!  One guy wanted me to send him $3000 through eBay on the promise of the money being held in escrow until I decided to purchase his vehicle after he has it delivered for free for a 4 to 5 day "test drive".  Slight problem, I'm an eBay-a-holic (my secret shame)...I know for a fact that eBay motors does not do escrow.  DUH!!  What is it with people?  Has the internet made the con men more bold and dulled the senses of the consumer?    I'll tell you what, my wife better love this car...if I ever find a real one.  Anyone else have a story of internet treachery??

[JLI Jesse]

Yes

Wait, let me actually read your post first

I would think that it doesn't cost these guys much more than time trying to scam people.  There are lots of stupid people out there who will fall for crap like that.  I mean, someone must have fallen for the Nigerian scam or why would they keep doing it?

Heck, this girl I went to high school with was taken by a scam.  Her husband was going to be paid to put of these fliers and somehow receive money for people who called the number on them.  However, he had to pay for the paper to make the fliers.  He was told they cost Eleven Fifty.  Of course he thought that meant $11.50, not $1150.  The other guy taped the conversation and said its the other guys fault for not asking for clarification.  In the end, the scam was overturned and that kid didn't have to pay that money, but god, who thinks they will actually make a lot of money putting up fliers...if something seems to good to be true, than it usually is.

I laughed as I read all about that in an article from my home town's local newspaper.

[Catch22]

Speaking of the Nigerian Scam...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453125,00.html

This was 2008!!!  That scam has been circulating on email for almost 20 years now.  20!  But this is the part that kills me here....

Her family and bank officials told her it was all a scam, she said, and begged her to stop, but she persisted because she became obsessed with getting paid.

wow.  just. wow.

[JLI Jesse]

Speaking of the Nigerian Scam...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453125,00.html

This was 2008!!!  That scam has been circulating on email for almost 20 years now.  20!  But this is the part that kills me here....

Her family and bank officials told her it was all a scam, she said, and begged her to stop, but she persisted because she became obsessed with getting paid.

wow.  just. wow.

See, this is where I curse modern technology.  Once upon a time someone that stupid would never survive and we'd lose her from the gene pool...now these people make it and just make the population that much more stupid.

[bluezulu]

Your wife has nice taste. Behind a corvette and a range rover the 300z fair lady is my dream car. They are reasonable now but finding one in good condition is hard. The Nigerian scam is crazy. Folks fall for that every day. With how much money Americans hide in foreign countries it has to be easier to wash money over there. No such thing as free money.

[Catch22]

Speaking of the Nigerian Scam...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453125,00.html

This was 2008!!!  That scam has been circulating on email for almost 20 years now.  20!  But this is the part that kills me here....

Her family and bank officials told her it was all a scam, she said, and begged her to stop, but she persisted because she became obsessed with getting paid.

wow.  just. wow.

See, this is where I curse modern technology.  Once upon a time someone that stupid would never survive and we'd lose her from the gene pool...now these people make it and just make the population that much more stupid.

True words have never been spoken.  People think just because it's on the internet it's true.  I have to send 3 or 4 emails a week to people with links from www.snopes.com because they forward misinformation about some silly thing or another.

Your wife has nice taste. Behind a corvette and a range rover the 300z fair lady is my dream car. They are reasonable now but finding one in good condition is hard. The Nigerian scam is crazy. Folks fall for that every day. With how much money Americans hide in foreign countries it has to be easier to wash money over there. No such thing as free money.

Yeah, blue...the 300 is the truth.  I'd be remiss if I didn't say that I'm looking so hard for this car because I plan to drive it...A LOT! LOL  The Nigerian scam is so bad because it's been around for almost as long as the world wide web...maybe longer and people are still falling for it.

[Reginald Hudlin]

I just sent a friend of mine the link to the snopes coverage of the Sophia Stewart case.  I am so sick of that one. 

[Catch22]

I got the one about cell phone numbers going public this month in this morning's email.  Time to send another link to a snopes article.

[Curtis Metcalf]

I got the one about cell phone numbers going public this month in this morning's email.  Time to send another link to a snopes article.

Sent my sister that one last week. Snopes is really handy for that.

[Cage]

Co-sign on every post about snopes.  Its ridiculous.

[Jay]

See, this is where I curse modern technology.  Once upon a time someone that stupid would never survive and we'd lose her from the gene pool...now these people make it and just make the population that much more stupid.

Hey, that's how the movie idiocracy starts.