I’m sure you’ve all seen and heard the unrelenting reports of “false news” or “alternative facts.”
(Brace yourself, this is post is full of “quotation marks.”)
This week I’m reminded about all the scams circling right now, most recently the “can you hear me?” call that you’ll receive, and then an onslaught of unauthorized purchases on your credit card. It’s been on the news, the radio… my husband even heard about it on Howard Stern, but just because it’s everywhere doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true.
I learned about snopes.com years ago. It’s a website devoted to investigating rumors, urban legends, folklore – that kind of thing. I use it to check if there really is a Nigerian Prince who wants to send me money (there isn’t), if the Geneva Convention will protect my Facebook page’s privacy (it won’t), or if that chart I’ve seen on Facebook saying the 7 countries President Trump has banned from the US really haven’t had any deadly terrorists – and all the deadly terrorist attacks have been from countries that are still free to travel and immigrate to the U.S. (partially true).
My mother-in-law was sold tens-of-thousands of dollars’ worth of vinyl siding because the sales man told her it would make her house warmer and the “sale wasn’t going to last.” Now, I don’t know if there really was a sale, but I do know her house would’ve been warmer if she’d turn the heat up past 62°.
This got me thinking about all the scams that there have been, still are, and why they’re so successful. Let’s take a look at what makes up a good scam. I looked on-line (yeah, I know) and here are 5 things that stood out to me:
- Inadvertent ignorance. We don’t take the time to actually investigate the scam and check sources. Just because it’s on TV, or on the internet, or even in print doesn’t mean it’s true.
- Herd mentality. “If all these other people say and think it’s true then it has to be – no questions asked.” See #1.
- Distraction. Whether we’re distracted by time (you have to make a decision right now!), phones or just life, being distracted makes it easier for us to miss important cues and we might make a snap judgment.
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- Dishonesty. If we’re more likely to engage in dishonest behavior – we’re more likely to take risks, and less likely to report it when we’re taken advantage of.
- Need or greed. What we want makes us vulnerable. Whether we’re greedy and want to make more money and fall prey to a “too good to be true” opportunity, or the “grandson” calling grandma for some quick cash because he wrecked his car, or needs medical care, or school books. Grandma’s an easy target because she wants to help her loved ones.
Scams work. Whether the scam is an outright lie or just partially true, our best defense is to investigate both sides for ourselves and then make a decision based on actual facts. Did the Queen really say she could run President Trump through with her sword? No. She was reported to have said so by The Daily Mash. A satirical website who posts in its about section: “The Daily Mash is a satirical website which publishes spoof articles, i.e. it is all made up and not intended, in any way whatsoever to be taken as factual. Glad we’ve got that sorted.” But how many people actually check the source?
This week, my reader, I ask that you think for yourself. Whether you want to know if that medical university will really pay you $50,000 for donating a testicle, or if a small child was really handcuffed at Dulles for the temporary immigration restriction, investigate the truth before you repeat it. Check the facts are actual facts and not “alternative facts,” and check the sources. Don’t be swayed by biased, satirical, or prejudiced information.
Oh, I checked on that phone scam, and whether you trust snopes or another source, you should too.
P.S.: Snopes was “snoped” a number of years back by people claiming it’s run by “very Democratic” proprietors,” and “lied to discredit a State Farm agent.” Like most rumors, there is partial truth: They did report that a State Farm agent had to take down a sign that didn’t comply with State Farm’s policy of not endorsing candidates. The e-mailer reports that the Mikkelson’s didn’t call the agent, Mr. Mikkelson says that’s true – they sent him an e-mail that the agent never responded too. See, partial truth: it’s true they didn’t call him, but we’re lead to believe they didn’t even try to contact him. And as to their political affiliation: Mrs. Mikkelson is Canadian and cannot vote or contribute to any political party, Mr. Mikkelson has never joined a party, worked on a campaign, and his sole “political preference” is to go out on election day and vote.
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