Psychology of scammers

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I have googled "psychology of scam" and all I keep running into was psychological explanations of why people fall into scams. But I never found a much more interesting question: what is a psychology of scammers themselves? In particular do scammers know what they do is wrong and just want a quick buck anyway? Or may be they think they are doing a RIGHT thing after all? May be they think that their rich American "brothers" OWE them a "brotherly help" since they live in such a poverty; and if their "brothers" are too blind to see that, then there is nothing wrong with "making" them do what they "should" be doing.

Consider for example a scammer that would lie that they are in the hospital somewhere, near death, and need some money urgently; or consider for example a lie that they are stuck in some country and need some money for plane tickets. If we take the FACTS away, the common EMOTIONAL theme here is extreme mysery. Now, would it have been a lie if they were to simply say "we are MISERABLE and we need urgent help?" No! After all, they are "miserable" in their poverty stricken country, are they not? Well, perhaps they are not as miserable as they TIHNK they are, since they tend to exagerate the riches of Americans and the poverty in their own countries. But that is still not a lie. They are probably quite sincere when they feel sorry for themselves. If they, themselves, are "mislead" in their own beliefs then that is not a lie. Just like if first grader sincerely thinks that 2+2=5 that is not a lie either.

Let us now go back to the examples of being seriously ill in the hospital or being stuck in foreigh airport. Is THAT a lie? From our Westerm "materialistic" perspective, yes. After all, these "facts" are not true. But you have to keep in mind: these people are not materialists; they are IDEALISTS! They don't focus on facts, they focus on emotions. So, they feel that if they were to simply tell to their "brothers" that they happened to live in the third world country and their income happened to be low, their "brothers" won't realize just how miserable they are (no, their brothers are not selfish by any means; they are just too "blind" to see). But, if they will tell them they are dying in the hospital, then this will allow their "brothers" to feel their mysery.

Thus, in the first scenario their "brothers" would get facts right but feelings wrong; in the second scenario their "brothers" would get feelings right and facts wrong. From a point of view of fact-based materialist, the first scenario is more "honest". But from the point of view of feeling-based idealist, the second one is more "honest". Thus, scammers, being idealists, feel the second scenario is more "honest". Hence, they don't feel like they are lying at all.

I think the idealism is a common theme of scams. If you take romance scams, for example, the letters that these scammers write are much more love-filled than any other love letters you would get. I believe the scammers really over-estimate the importance of LOVE. To them, love is literally EVERYTHING. That is why they are so blinded by LOVE to see more mundane things, such as financial damage they would cause to their victims. Since they are such strong believers in the power of love, they seriously DO think that westerners are their "brothers". They feel that everyone in the world should be their "brother", and if Westrerners don't see it, it just means that these particular "brothers" are "too blind". But that is okay, their extreme love will eventually open the eyes of their Western brothers, so that they would finally realize that all the money that they have sacrificed is nothing, but all the love that they gained is everything.

Okay let us now consider a different scenario:

Perhaps the whole "love" thing is a lie. But still, this doesn't prove that they know what they are doing is wrong. There might still be yet another "rightful" motivation. Perhaps, scammers over-estimate the average American income. Perhaps they tihnk that the average American has millions of dollars. In this case, they are right: it would do no damage to a multi-millionare if he spares few thousands. So, in light of this misconception, they believe that the only reason Americans won't send them tehse few thousand dollars is that they are "greedy". Thus, it is a rightful thing to do to "make" them send that money forcefully.

Consider for example a scammer I met in India. He scammed me out of few thousand dollars in order to buy an orphanage. Now, is he a bad person? No -- if he was, why would he take care of all of his orphans? Rather, he thinks he is doing a GOOD thing helping the poor orphan kids; but, since I am such a rich American, he won't hurt me at all by taking few thousand dollars from me.

Look at this. Eventually, almost a year after it started, he finally admitted to me that SOME of the money that I gave him was used for orphanage. Now, when I confronted him on that, he told me AS A JUSTIFICATION that he "cant tell me everything" -- after all, if he were to tell me the truth, I won't have helped his orphans. Now, according to our Western mindset, saying a lie in order to get someone else to do something is WORSE than saying a lie just for the hell of it. In his mindset, on the other hand, it is the OPPOSITE. After all, he hoped that he would JUSTIFY HIMSELF by telling me that he lied IN ORDER TO GET ME TO DO SOMETHING. Now, no one says things that make them look worse in order to "justify themselves", whether they are honest or not. So, the fact that he attempted to justify himself in this particular way shows that his beliefs about morality ARE in fact different from Westerners. If he were given multiple choice regarding which kind lie is worse, he would have given the wrong answer!

So, in light of all of these things I am led to believe that perhaps scammers simply don't know that what they are doing is wrong. Perhaps they think that rich Americans rightly OWE them money. And you know, in some way I am a lot more pissed at them then I would have been at more classical criminal. At least "classical" criminal knows what he is doing is wrong. Scammers do not. Scammers are the only ones who actually feel that they do it because I OWE them something.

Psychopathy? The psychopath is exceedingly self-centered and willing to rationalize taking from others on the basis that they deserve it (i.e., a sense of entitlement). They lack any significant feelings of guilt, remorse, or empathy that might motivate them not to do it. They are notorious liars and manipulators, so scamming comes naturally to them.

I still think they know what they are doing is wrong. I think that we all, for the most part, maintain a common sense of morality. Justifying something in one's mind doesn't make it right. It just makes doing what you want to do easier to go through with. For those who genuinely don't care about others, doing something that is wrong likely won't even cross that person's mind as such. It's not that the person really believes that it's right--they've just gotten so good at suppressing that particular moral instinct or directive to the point they don't have to think about it.

It's like when I was young and my father was still alive. He was a diabetic and a smoker, knowing full well the consequences of his habits. The trouble is that tobacco is addictive and the immediate consequences of cessation outweigh the long-term benefits. There was a greater benefit to quitting, just not one that could instantly be felt and seen over withdrawal; nothing calms withdrawal like another cig, but the only alternative is just waiting it out. Ask him if he thought smoking was ok, and he'd tell you "no." But if it isn't right, why do it? The patterns of behavior that involve things that are wrong or unhealthy are more unrelenting than good and healthy patterns. One cigarette is not going to kill you--TODAY. I think more often the effects of immoral behavior, like smoking, are cumulative rather than immediate.

I think that's more the psychology of scammers. They know it's wrong. But they also are keenly aware of the immediate effects, such as acquiring wealth through less-than-honest means which, in some cases, is faster and easier than actually trying to find an honest job. Add to that the stimulation of catching people in a scam--like anglers catching fish through deception by making the fish think they are seeing real flies. So the drug-like effect of succeeding and the material reward become the motivation to continue doing what they do. The trouble is that it doesn't last, and there are probably reasons why a person would continually endeavor to get quick money--they don't manage money well themselves and spend to maintain a lifestyle rather than only being concerned with their basic needs. If the scam has gone on long enough, the thrill is more in the hunt than any amount of money to be made.

What I don't understand, though, is how Ponzi schemes are even attractive. Sooner or later, they always fail. The fact that some criminals try to keep them going for long stretches of time leads me to question their sanity. The impression I got from the whole Madoff thing was that he understood what he was doing was wrong, but he honestly believed that he was helping people. It's entirely possible he intended something positive in the end but was unable to sustain the scheme. That's the smoker who wants to quit but is into harder stuff than ciggies.

The worst of the worst, though, like cigs, are the one's that are perfectly legal--credit cards and the whole mortgage business. I'm not crazy about student loans either, but there doesn't seem to be a viable alternative without wealthy parents. Personal finance of health care is another scam. Insurance in this country definitely needs an overhaul--that is, to actually pay claims and end unfair practices. If I could get back all the money I paid into insurance, I'd have enough to pay roughly 1/3 of my daughter's medical expenses for all the time she spent in NICU. It's not really bad until they send you to collections. Because it's legal, of course, they can afford to be heavy-handed in their dealings with you. Times now are such that the debtor generally has the upper hand when it comes to medical debt and the courts are on our side. But as recent history shows, even the banks aren't invulnerable from toppling from unprincipled yet legal scams. I think deep down those people also know what they are doing is wrong but are justified in the legality of what they do. They don't account for the fact that just because something is legal doesn't make it RIGHT, and laws can change. While I've compared everything so far to nicotine addiction, these people are a whole new breed of slime, and I think comparing them to habitual drunks and alcoholics is more appropriate.

The issue with scams is that they are just one step below traditional salesmanship.

The scam works on a fundamental principle...the "mark" being greedy and wanting something valuable for next to nothing.

They exploit that to take a lot and give nothing of value.

Salesmen work in a similar fashion, but often the worst they do is give something of questionable value by making the "mark" think they are getting a great deal they can't afford to pass up on. No victim because the "mark" gets what they paid for...it just doesn't live up to what they had hoped it would be.

Scammers say what they need to in order to make people give them money. Of course they know it's wrong, but they do it anyway for money. They're not dissimilar to salesmen as zer0netgain pointed out.

Their stories are usually emotional and idealistic because emotions naturally appeal to most humans, even if there's a little doubt about the situation, and the fact it's all perfect makes people want to jump at it even more if they forget the old saying - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Wouldn't these appeal equally to the westerners as it would to third world people? How do you explain why scams are so much more common in third world countries?

My personal theory is that people in third world countries feel that Westerners "owe" them something and thats why they allow their addictions to develop.

It is also possible that they are under misconception that in the West people get money with little or no work. So they feel that the fact that they have to work is a predicament of third world. Consequently, they feel they are "unfairly disadvantaged" and thats why they don't wnat to work since they want to be "just like" they assume Westerners to be.

Again, I think that is also what motivates them to come up with scenarios of "misery" when designing a scam. They feel that their situation in third world is just as miserable as the situation of a westerner in emergency room. Hence, the "hospital" scenarios that they design; they feel these scenairos are not really deceptive since they convey the "spirit" of their siutation.




Again, may be the reason they "spend on a lifestyle" is that they are under a wrong assumption that all of the Westerners can afford this. Thus, if they were to just focus on basic needs, they would feel unfairly disadvantaged. Hence, they scam Westerners in order to be able to "spend on a lifestyle", just like Westerners, presumably, do.

On the other hand, on the West there are some equally poor people and none of them spend on a lifestyle. Why not? Because they see their neighbor westerners, and they know that not all of them are rich. But that is one piece of information that people in third world countries tragically miss.

Scams play on emotions. People buy things based on emotion more than logic. You can't scam someone using logic unless you simply outsmart him. Even then, the person will usually choose what they want to believe or what feels good to believe; wishful thinking. Manipulating this is quite easy.

Ideals can be logical, but there is emotion tied to it still. I'm an idealist so I know how strong hope is tied to it. It is easy to scam me if you know my ideals and I'm not aware of it.

Why scammers do what they need to do? Because they need to or want to. Its really not any more complicated than that. To know whether or not they believe what they are doing is wrong is something that needs to be asked at the personal level.