'Pig-butchering' scam is costing Americans billions

Yeah. If you follow r/scams on reddit this is the most common. People will literally be telling them they are being scammed and they still don't believe it.

 

Near the end of my dad’s life my sister had to take control of his finances. He was never good at making decisions but at the end it was almost like he was intentionally trying to give it away to conmen before his family would get it upon his passing.

 

“Useful delusions” is an interesting book that covers the psychology behind why some people fall for these scams, don’t believe they’re being scammed, or sometimes actually support the scammers even whey they know they’ve been scammed. Highly recommend.

 

My best friends brother had one of these scammers working on him. Was pretending to be ... get this ... Kaley Cuoco. The brother was sure it was really her. She would send him pics, and stuff.

Eventually they tried to squeeze him for money and found out the dude didn't have two pennies to rub together. For some reason Kaley dumped him right soon after.

 

I feel bad for laughing at this, but I did.

 

That and random friend requests from peeps I've never heard of. Ignore.

 

So how do you get pretend hot looking babes to send friend requests? Asking for a friend

 

I have already told my children that after the age of 80, whether MsAging is still living or not, that they will assume control of the finances in the trust. My father and FIL, who both managed money quite well up until 80 managed to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars in bad healthcare decisions, impulsive purchases, and large donations to unworthy charities.

No way I’m repeating that mistake.

 

Post fake pictures of yourself with expensive cars and in high end vacation spots. You will be getting more requests than you can handle. You can also place large amounts of money in banks or brokerages that you know sell you data.

 

My Uncle was a a victim of one of those "You won the lottery in Nigeria" deals, just send us 1% and we send you the check.
He sent around $3,000 K the first go round before the family figured out what was happening. My Uncle was a decorated WW2 vet,
a full bird Colonel in the Army Air Force and mission planner on the strike that killed Yamamoto. A smart and accompished man.

Not a romance scam but still a scam. He had dementia.

I read the article posted by City. It is truly alarming how senior citizens are victimized by scumbags.

The woman in the second half of the story has no excuse. Young, (relatively speaking) apparantly accomplished and gets suckered
multiple times, including 150K payment to the scammer where she had to borrow the money? NEVER met this person. NEVER.
I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, but I don't let loneliness dictate to my check book and I sure as hell don't send money
to people or organizations I don't have knowledge of.

Up here the scammers are claiming to be "police" looking for charitable donations. Better watch out for that to.

When the kids leave the nest and you lose your spouse for wwhatever reason, it can get damn lonely, depending on lifestyle.

I'm going through that now. (Empty Nester) I just turned 65 and I can't BEGIN to tell you the endless scam calls I get, especially
about health care (medicare). It's freaking UNBELIVABLE. I have the "Scam Likely" feature on my phone. I usually don't answer and
immediately block. When I do answer it's the same shit - a foreign speaker wanting to "send me something free", just need the CC info.
for the postage or whatever. I recommend YEAH SURE, put the bastards on hold until they hang up! Or give them a piece of my mind
after they are on hold 10 minutes.

 

Sometimes I speak in angry Japanese tones to the scammers until they get frustrated and hang up. Thing is I dont speak Japanese.

 

Easy, Peasey, Japanesee! (Courtesy of dialouge from the Shawshank Redemption)

 

Maybe you can show us your search history and we'll help youu get to the bottom of it?

 

Facebook is the worse. Good lord, I've joined a few "hot girls pics" groups, and pretty much every pic includes a "click here to chat" type link that is a scam. I enjoy the pics, but I ignore the links and the "friend" requests that come out of no where.

 

Best movie ever!

 

My wife is always trying to antagonize the spam callers and giving them some run around. I always tell her ... well since you picked up the phone ... they now are going to sell your number as an active line."

I don't recognize a number on my phone, I let it go to voice mail. If they are legit they can leave a message.