Psychopathology of "ripoff artists"

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A known scam group has been calling me for a few months, and trying to extract money from me. They have threaten that the police are coming to arrest me, they have made other threats, and want me to give them money. I know they are scammers because their phone number is identified on scam warning sites.

How can a person ripoff another person like that? [rhetorical question]

Apparently, "scam calling" is widespread. Scammers call and lie to you that you have "unresolved tax debt", or "outstanding payday loan" or "civil litigation for fraud", or they call and tell you that your computer has a virus and you need to buy their program to fix it.

Locally, I have seen people getting ripped off because a scammer wanted payment for a supposed utility bill, or they said "it was going to be turned off".

Am i right to assume, these people have no morals? Or do you see the argument, "Hey, I need to pay my bills somehow" as a moral justification?

My judgement of them is harsh.

However, please tell me, what is your take on the psychopathology of "ripoff artists".

First: it's illegal, and therefore morally wrong within the value-system of the respective subpopulation.

Second: it would likely still be morally wrong from a more abstract point of view. We're talking "IF they stole to feed their family" etc.
And IF that was the case, scamming other relatively poor people is still unacceptable. Eat the rich, not your local community.

These are just criminals trying to make a buck, underlying pathology not specifically defined.

Doesn't sound like a well thought out scam. What was the back story? More elaborate than that?

Sound like more of an attempt as extortion, than a con job.

The psychology is mostly narcissistic.

The concept is always the same: not many are going to fall for this, but those who do will be so far down the IQ scale, they will be helpless even if they are told they have been scammed.

Btw I hope you reported this.

Common scams target older becuase they are softer targets.

There are all sorts. The most effective ones are able to imply consent, usually lottery scams or investment scams (so called boiler room), or catfish scams.

Other example are calling them saying there has been fraud on their bank card. They then tell them to hang up an call their bank, except the call doesn't actually end it just seem that way. They answer security questions regarding their card, which is used to steal their information. They then arrange for a 'police' courier so the card can be used as 'evidence'.

It is a very effective scam, but they wouldn't fool me. However they will fool many people.

I once had a scammer call me, it was the your computer had a virus scam. I actually got him to admit he was a scammer (since I work in IT), and it was the most ridiculous scam I ever heard of.

Well one of the techniques of scammers is to not make it too good. Especially Spanish Sailor / 419 scams.

There don't what a maybe. That is too high risk. They want someone whole take the bait hook line and sinker.

They want smart people not only not partake, but think it so bad that hopefully they will ignore it.

-They a get a bit information on you
-then combine that with a story that you owe money
-then threaten and harass you for money to "resolve your problem"

I have been told multiple false stories:
-My computer has a virus and I need to go to their website and download something that will fix it
-I have litigation for fraud I committed
-I have a payday loan I never repaid.

I called TWENTY-FIVE times today to pester them to remove me, and I heard different stories per different calls. So, apparently, the story is random. Also, there were at least twelve different people answering the phone. This is a like group of criminals collaborating. Also, they were aware of other calls I made, and specific words I used with other operators, so they must be in the same room.

The only tactic that worked was when I told a woman "you are so nice, you are the nicest one I have spoken to here, we both know this is a scam, but could you please remove me". She admitted it was a scam but said she would get in trouble if she removed me.


Yes, it's a form of extortion.

They get mean and threaten to "expose you" to your employer.


It is interesting that you choose the word "narcissistic".

Can you explain "narcissistic" in this context? You mean their personality is so focused on the "self" that they don't feel the harm they cause others, or guilt, or pity, or disgust?

I find such behavior to be so shocking that it is offensive to my personality.

Try not answering the f*****g phone if you don't recognize the caller. If they leave voicemail and you don't like the sound of it then don't call back. I NEVER answer my phone if I don't recognize who's trying to call.

They do leave voicemail but it's a machine voice. They have been calling for two months. The phone company wants me to pay to ban the number.

However, this is not just about me.

We saw earlier how an ASD kid committed suicide, because he believed in one of these scammers.

"Autistic A-level student, 17, hanged himself after being sent a fake police email claiming he was being investigated for having indecent images and demanding £100"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... mages.html

Any opinions on the psyche of these people ?

Hypothetical scammers:

Joe: "I just ripped off an elderly lady for $6500. Man, it feels so good".

Kellie: "I bet it does. I had some lady in tears last week sobbing over $4200 in 'back taxes'".

Bill: "They are so stupid they deserve to be ripped off".
_______________________________________________________

What kind of sick f**** are these people?

There are all sorts of confidence men and crooks out there.

Just a couple hours ago i saw a young woman on a facebook group i belong to begging for someone to help her out of a car she owes more than $10k on, which needs an expensive repair, and is worth less than $5k. I told her to find a bankruptcy attorney. She hasn't responded, but my guess is that she has bad credit and went to one of those "we finance anybody" lots. The people who sold her this millstone probably paid less than $2k for it at auction and performed some superficial repairs to get it sold. She was a moron to take the bait, but that doesn't mean she has any moral or ethical responsibility to keep paying for it. Needs to find a way to give them back their car and walk away.

anyway, take a look at 419eater.com - there's a whole field of "scambaiting" out there. Basically the idea is to waste their time and/or get them to spend their own money.

Thanks

This is good stuff. I will definitely check out this site.

I called them 25 times yesterday just to mess with them.

This is the way all "confidence men", or "con men" do their work. They pick a likely "mark" because they believe this person will fall for the lies they offer. They judge carefully who is going to be their next victim. But this type of crime is really nothing but stealing.

I believe, in addition to the money they steal, they may get an big emotional "boost" at bettering or hurting some poor soul. The need for this narcissistic boost may be what drives them.

There are things more disgusting but this ranks up there near the worst.

You should be able to block callers with your phone without dealing with the phone company. That's how it works with an iPhone so I'm assuming any cell phone has that option. I never use a landline for any calls except at work. It's strictly cell phone for me.


I would think it would be illegal to pose as an LE agency or anyone representing them. The cops won't be doing thier business like that by e-mail, anyway.


Yeah, they are predators plain and simple. I don't expect the law can do much about them since they are very shrewd people and can probably outsmart the cops. Best measure for the would-be victim is to be a hard target.

That is basically a protection racket / extortion using blackmail. It is a poor becuase there is not real muscle or thought gone into it.

They are probably relying on demographic that is like to be vulnerable such as elderly, who probably would be confused.

it is not always "dumb" people that fall for this.

Call 1-888-382-1222 to put yourself on the national "Do Not Call" list (U.S.), so solicitors won't call you. You MUST call from the phone that you want on the list, and you have to do it from EACH phone, singularly.

Also, I have a landline, and I have an exterior answering machine (Wal-Mart). When people leave a message, if I don't mind talking to them, I pick-up when they speak.