Perfect For The Job

At my first newspaper job, one of my duties was to type up and edit the letters to the editor. Most of them were incoherent rants that, had I been in charge, I'd never have printed, but unfortunately, those decisions weren't mine to make. So instead, I would simply read and laugh at the letters with anyone who would listen, most of the time a guy named Lou. Lou was, direct, shall we say, with his comments, never hesitating to say just what was on his mind. And his response to most of these letters was the same.

"Never underestimate people's power to be stupid."

How right he was. I could probably write a hundred blog entries about stupid people (and probably a hundred more about Lou, who was quite a character). However, today, I choose to focus on a story in which I am assumed to be the stupid one, which is both annoying and insulting.

A month or so ago, as I was updating my bank account, auto loan, credit cards, etc. with my new, married name. While I was at it, I figured I'd hit the staffing agencies and job search Web sites on which I'd posted my resume, so that when I'm ready to look for a new job, the information will already be current and correct. Had I known about the deluge of spam I would receive from one particular site, I might have removed my resume entirely.

Since I updated my information, I have received about five e-mail messages that might as well have "spam" in the subject line. The "job," according to the "employers," is transferring money from offshore bank accounts to theirs, via your own. You transfer the bulk of the money and keep a percentage. The take is bucketloads, and the only requirement for the job is a bank account.

Hey, I have a bank account. Sign me up, baby!

Really -- how stupid do these people think we are? Identity theft and internet crime have been discussed so much in the media that even people who can't think for themselves should certainly know by now that these operations are scams. Please -- money transfer via your bank account? Anyone who falls for that deserves to be ripped off.

I read an article this morning about a new scam in which a person receives an e-mail message from someone claiming to be a mafia hitman. The recipient of the message is next on his list for a hit, he says, but he'd be willing to call it off if the recipient pays him anywhere between $30,000 and $80,000. Hey, at least that one is creative, but according to the article, one of the messages reported to the FBI included personal contact information and names of family members. That is downright scary.

But for the most part, the thing that scares me is the fact that some people actually fall for these schemes. They really believe that a legitimate company wants to pay them top dollar to sit at home and transfer money, or they really believe that someone has ordered a hit on them. I don't know a lot about mobsters, but I'm pretty sure they don't just kill people for no reason, especially regular people.

There is a lesson to be learned in all of this, though. People will fall for anything! Why haven't I thought of an internet scheme that would trick people out of millions? Why have I ignored this fantastic opportunity for so long?

Guess I've just been stupid.