Clever people 'are easier to con' says a report carried out by Ultrascan, an IT fraud agency based in the Netherlands.
Other people who are particularly vulnerable are those who have suffered a bereavement or a recent or life-changing trauma.
The agency said that poorly educated or financially inexperienced people were not so desirable to scammers because they did not trust their own judgment and soon realised that they had been duped.
Frank Engelsman, Ultrascan’s specialist in advance-fee fraud, said that doctors were especially vulnerable to scams that encouraged them to do good. “They very often fall for a scam that starts with a request to help the less fortunate in the world through good causes,” he said. “To do the bigger scams you need the victims to trust their own capabilities and experience.”
The other set of people they forgot... sales people. Maybe because they tend to believe their own spiels, sales people tend to believe spiels coming from others. I've seen it happen and it's rather odd. You'd think they would question "assertions" but they don't - as long as it's not their own area of expertise. If the assertion is given with authority in the voice - they'll fall for it every time.
Not that I can't be duped, but it's interesting to see it happen to someone you figured would be immune by virtue of their job description.
Posted by: Teresa at March 19, 2008 10:01 PM