Do
you recognize the name Charlotte Cowles?
No? Then maybe you know her
instead for what she did. She is the
financial-advice journalist—of all things—that fell for a scam that led her to
hand over a shoebox full of cash—$50,000 of her own money—to a stranger.
There
can be two basic reactions to that story: “What an idiot she is! How could she let that happen?” Or a more empathetic “I feel so bad for her. Could that happen to me?” And Ms. Cowles has had plenty of both on
social media.
I
tend to fall into the latter group.
There are so many sophisticated methods that scammers can use, and so
much personal information compromised through computer hacking of companies we
legitimately deal with every day, from your bank to the local hospital to your
own employer, that those who would steal your money stealthily seem to have all
the advantages. In Ms. Cowles’s case,
someone posing as an employee of Amazon phoned her, transferred her to someone
else posing as a worker at the Federal Trade Commission, and eventually even
had a third person pretending to be a CIA employee involved.
But
look at that sequence again. She likely
orders from Amazon (and by the way, evidence seems to indicate I’m the only
person in the United States never to have ordered from Amazon; contact me if
you know differently) so it was reasonable to assume Amazon might have reason
to call her about an identity theft issue, especially if the caller had any
personal information about her that he could cite. The Federal Trade Commission is the agency to
contact about identity theft scams, so that seemed like a reasonable next step
to be handed off to them. And if she
were told that the identity thieves were based overseas and the victim is
convinced she is part of a plan to help trap them, wouldn’t she do anything she
could to help out? Including handing
over some bait money for safe keeping or to lure them into the trap?
Now
that part about the CIA agent does seem far-fetched until we realize what
happened in steps one and two. Ms.
Cowles’s defense mechanisms were turned off by inducing her fear response. She was convinced her identity, bank
accounts, reputation, and even her freedom (think: jail time for fraud) were in
danger so instead of thinking rationally she went into panic mode, didn’t
question what she was told, and simply followed the scammers’ directions. And it is this aspect of the scam that causes
me to empathize with the victim. If a
scammer hits just the right nerve, just the right fear and dread of the
intended victim, then the path to a successful theft is paved for him. A doting grandparent is told his grandchild
is in jail unjustly in another state, wire some money to him. A retiree is told that his Social Security
account has been compromised and she could lose her benefits unless she can
verify her direct deposit information. Anyone can fall for it. You can.
I can.
I
salute Ms. Cowles for coming forward to admit her failing. Her experience should teach us that anyone
can fall for a clever scam and that these are not backstreet muggers trying to
take our money. These are organized
criminals who can make a phone call look like it’s coming from a legitimate
known business. Who can use artificial
intelligence to mimic a loved one’s voice.
Who are stealing billions of dollars every year from Americans.
I
repeat here what I’ve said before: Stop.
Think. Slow down the process if it
seems you are being pulled into a similar situation. You are not going imminently to jail. Social Security does not phone you to tell
you that you will lose your benefits. No
government agency accepts Walmart gift cards as a method of payment. If ANYTHING seems the slightest bit off, call
a halt. Hang up, then look up online the
real number of the alleged legitimate party that was calling (Amazon, Social
Security, the FTC, etc.) and call them to ask if something really is
wrong. The same is true for e-mails or
any other form of communication that seems strange and even slightly
suspicious. Keep your emotions in check,
as hard as that might be.
And
have some empathy for Ms. Cowles. You’d
want the same for yourself if you fell victim.
Until next
time,
Roger
“I see
violence and strife in the city….and mischief and trouble are within it…oppression
and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.” Psalm 55:9-11 RSV
