Sympathy for the scammed

It’s very easy for many to read stories of those who have been scammed either online or on the phone and think that it would never happen to us.

Of course we would know when someone was having us on. We know a scam when we see one and we would know if we were being taken for a ride.

But I’m sure many of those who find themselves out of pocket or harrassed by these criminals often thought the same thing to themselves, also.

Friday’s story about Michelle Kitchingman, who had $4000 stolen from her by a man claiming to be a technician from Spark, was a sobering read.

It is easy to see how these scammers prey on those who have a lot of other things on their mind, be they mentally or physically challenged, or elderly.

It would only need to happen a couple of times for it to become financially viable for a scammer to continue on their path of distrust and greed.

While many of us would hang up once we cottoned on to them, not all have the power to say no to someone who is presenting themselves as being a person in authority.

Take in to account also that they often ring at the most inopportune times, when we’re busy with other things or distracted, then it’s a perfect storm. We need to remember that not that long ago, credit card details were guarded with the highest importance.

Nowadays, with the invent of online shopping and paying bills online, these details are all to often bandied about with disregard to what troubles the card owner could find themselves in should the card numbers fall into the wrong hands.

Instead of scoffing at the victims of these scams, it would be wise to remember that one of the reasons these scammer get away with their antics for so long, leaving a trail of victims behind them, is because of those who are too ashamed to speak up.

Even if you haven’t lost money as part of a scam, reporting these approaches to the companies or agencies they claim to represent, along with police, means trends and patterns can be spotted and warnings can be released to raise awareness for those who may be targeted.