Slashdot Mirror
Man Loses Millions In Bizarre Virus-Protection Scam
Orome1 writes "A US court has heard that a couple conned at least $6 million from the great-grandson of an oil industry tycoon after he brought his virus-infected computer in for repair. The couple are said to have tricked the composer into believing that, while investigating the virus, they had found evidence that his life was in danger – concocting a story that the virus had been tracked to a hard drive in Honduras, and that evidence had been found that the composer's life was in danger." The victim here, Roger Davidson, may have lost as much as $20 million, after being convinced that he was in danger from a grand conspiracy. Vickram Bedi and girlfriend Helga Invarsdottir convinced Davidson to pay $160,000 monthly, and possibly much more, for their help.
If he was successful as composer and had signed a deal with any of the big labels he would have been left empty-handed by now.
I mean seriously. Do people really fall for these scams?
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
Just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they are not out to get you(r money).
No worries about bad technicians trying to steal your money, just like if you do your own car work you don't have to worry about a bad mechanic trying to change the "headlight fluid."
More of a stupid tax than a scam, really.
http://CryoLANparty.com/ A lan I'm staff on!
Well at least now some amount of money is at hands of someone that deserves it *more*.
and he had to kill himself to wake up
There's an old saying that's just on the tip of my tongue. Now what is it?
Oh yeah, a fool and his money are soon parted.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
Yes problem is, that in between fixing my guitar, my laptop, my tv and my fridge, I need to find some time to become skilled in fixing the hairdryer. My family wants some time from me. And the government wants me to put into some time to pay them for whatever service it is they tell me I just bought. In the end... I think I'd just let a qualified mechanic look at the car I transport my kids in ;)
Btw, Thank you for your remittance, soon the Iranian shaw will be able to access his funds and reward your help handsomly.
No worries about bad technicians trying to steal your money, just like if you do your own car work you don't have to worry about a bad mechanic trying to change the "headlight fluid."
Splitting your sentence between title of your message and the message itself is very annoying. Please stop.
Anyone dumb enough to fall for this deserves to be robbed of millions. I don't even think he should be re-compensated. Consider it an expensive lesson.
We've been contacted by an alien named Lurg. He comes from the planet Xulton in the in the Doovi nebula. Lurg informed us, that unless you pay him... errr.. I mean us... $160,000 a month, he will steal your child and make him a slave in the Galvanium mines of Dooviburg. You may be tempted to contact the United States authorities about this, however, any contact with them will result in the immediate death of your son.
Bet these chumps would fall for that too.
Trust fund baby gets taken to the cleaners by modern day Robin Hoods. The only reaction I can think worthy of this heinous act is...
applause
A counterpoint to the obvious: there's a place in the world for generous, naive people. They are GOOD people, generally.
It's a goddamned shame that scam artists take advantage of them.
> More of a stupid tax than a scam, really.
Which is, in and of itself, an interesting dichotomy. To what extent should the law protect those who don't protect themselves? That's an issue comes up in false advertising cases, in tort cases, in welfare issues, in tax policy, and generally throughout society, as soon as you decide there will be rule of law. Do we defend someone against malicious speech? Against the elements? Do we care if they could have diffused a situation with a kind word and instead chose to be belligerent and got punched in the nose? Do we feel differently if the nose hit belongs to a woman or a man or a child or a dog? A multimillionaire should be able to protect himself, but then, if it's inherited, he may have no nose for it. Or if he's only used to dealing with reputable companies, he may be hoodwinked.
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
Yes, Mr. Davidson, they are out to get you. You just misunderstood who they are.
Naivete and paranoia are a dangerous combination.
I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
A friend of mine was renting a room in the house of a lady who lived down the street from me. She had been suckered into a Nigerian 419 scam, was convinced that the people she was communicating with were "Good Christians", and sent them about $30,000. When she took out a loan against her home, her daughters attempted to intervene with the courts to declare her incapable of managing her assets. She ended up losing the house and all her money, and my friend lost his room. She was a nice old lady whose mind was starting to go, and unfortunately was taken advantage of by some cold bastards. Don't mock too hard, it could be someone you love or even you one day.
We've been contacted by an alien named Lurg. He comes from the planet Xulton in the in the Doovi nebula. Lurg informed us, that unless you pay him... errr.. I mean us... $160,000 a month, he will steal your child and make him a slave in the Galvanium mines of Dooviburg. You may be tempted to contact the United States authorities about this, however, any contact with them will result in the immediate death of your son.
That's not creative at all. You just ripped off L. Ron HubbleBubble and changed the names
That's absurd, there's a difference between "I need to defrag your monitor, only costs 100$!" and "Give me 160k$ per month so I can stop bolivian kidnappers".
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
The New York Times has a more in-depth article on this case, and it seems strange indeed.
There's an old saying: "You can't con an honest man." Most cons work because they prey on the victim's own greed or baser emotions. I wonder how much of this was going on in this case?
The Times article contains a few choice tidbits. Apparently, once he got into cahoots with the scammers, Mr. Davidson got involved with some plot of theirs to sue Wachovia Bank for mismanaging Davidson's trust fund, among other things. That sounds suspiciously like the classic con, where you give the con man some of your money in return for the promise that he'll get you lots more money later.
If nothing else, Davidson does sound a little credulous, and possibly mentally ill. The scammers told him his life was supposedly in danger from a group of Polish priests with ties to Opus Dei, whom the scammers told him had a plan to overthrow the United States government. How plausible is that? But then, if you were already rabidly anti-Catholic, it might sound very plausible. Most of us probably wouldn't believe there was an international conspiracy on our lives in the first place, no matter how rich we were; but if you were mentally unstable with delusions of grandeur, you might.
The final paragraph of the NYT article says Davidson's outgoing voicemail message says, “If you leave an ad or any other such message, your telephone wire will be fried automatically.” Who would claim such a thing? You might as well say you're going to report them to the Men in Black.
It seems to me that if Davidson was thinking clearly, none of this would have played out the way it did -- but I guess we knew that already.
Breakfast served all day!
Well, yeah, but a good mechanic will do it properly. That's why you pay extra. Personally I'm not very good with cars and I don't have time to change the headlight fluid every six months, but I am concerned about driving at night when the headlights aren't ionized properly.
You should see my mechanic; he's not the cheapest but he'll fix problems with your car you didn't even know you had, and that other guys aren't sharp enough to notice.
I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
Naivete and paranoia are a dangerous combination.
And Naivete and paranoia and lots of money is a profitable business venture.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. -- Isaac Asimov
1) Man earns millions from oil industry.
2) He dies.
3) His son inherits the money.
4) His son dies.
5) His grandson inherits the money.
6) His grandson gets scammed and loses the money.
7) His grandson's scammers spend some of the money.
8) His grandson's lawyers are paid to fight the scammers.
9) His grandson's lawyers buy a new Mercedes.
See? It *does* trickle down! It just takes 2 generations and some scamming to get it spread around!
Everything is not black and white. To say essentially 'because I cannot know everything I should know nothing' is not much of an excuse. Nobody has to be a certified mechanic to know when your mechanic is screwing you, just like nobody needs to program in cobol to know that when your 'tech' asks for 160k a month you might want a second opinion.
Maybe he thought they were "real" agents because of the badges they wear. :)
Why modded Flamebait? Perfectly valid point. I do consider myself a nerd but I think it's ridiculous that so many nerds expect everyone else to "know" that much about computers. Yeah, maybe they need to increase awareness globally but accept that there are limitations. Think of how many ppl in the world know how to drive (car, truck, van) or ride (bicycle, motorcycle, moped) - and now, how many of them do you think can actually a) Fix a tyre or b) know what a busted carburetter sounds like? I could go on with the car analogy. The most I would expect a car owner to know is how to do a rolling/push/cold start on a car when the battery is low/dead.
There's a reason we trust mechanics - even if we know there's a risk involved with them trying to cheat us. Now consider the cost of yearly warranties with legit outfits to fix computers - they usually cost way too much and even with 1-2 failures a year, exceed the cost of the replacement parts. So you end up going to your local mom & pop shop. PS: They don't become _your_ local mom & pop shop until you've gone there at least the first time.
The reason this guy got screwed out of so much money has little to do with his lack of knowledge about computers.
"Stupid people shouldn't have money anyway", to paraphrase Mr. Burns I think.
I'm smarter than that, the other day the awesome guys at Geek Squad replaced the magic smoke in my computer and now it's never run better! Best $350 I have ever spent while wearing pants.
I hope this will help the Prince of Nigeria and perhaps put an end to his money problems.
Ever since 2002 the US government has been scaring its citizens with a bizarre grand conspiracy theory concocted by DHS and TSA to convince Americans they are in mortal danger from everything from shoes to ink cartridges, and the only solution is to spend vast sums of money on security and endless war while depriving the people of more and more of their liberties.
Obviously someone that dumb shouldn't have had that much money. He deserved losing it.
All glory to Arstotzka!
If you don't make the effort to become an _informed consumer_, which while considerable is less than that required to do the jobs you list, you
won't be able to distinguish good techs from bad.
BTW:
In terms of money saved, learn to fix the car first. It pays off hugely over a lifetime, even if you take a community college course to get started.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
...are soon parted... nuf said
Come on, you don't buy a Mercedes to go fix it yourself. I can make a lot more money with letting a skilled mechanic do that for me, while I'm busy doing my business. To you and me a computer will never have to the store except for a hardware-failure within your warranty. Now, go fix a tv... Don't see many it-nerds fixing their own tv's... What you ask from people is too much. Only hobbyist have an interest in spending the time and effort it takes to become good enough at it to be able to find a darn software/hardware problem. Other people rather invest that time in their own jobs or things they like. Maybe they paint... Maybe they are very good at running a marathon. Everybody has X-time. And everybody has to make choices with that given time. I like pc's. And I used to like fixing them. Now I know better. If my pc goes flat on me, I throw it away and buy a new one. I don't even care to look if it is a faulty power supply or a faulty motherboard. For the simple reason that I have better things to do.
There is this attitude from many, such as you, that just because someone has money they are a bad person. As such they deserve to have bad things happen to them. What a horrible, shallow, short-sighted view. This is particularly true when you are talking someone like a trust-fund kid. At least in the case of someone who started normal and became rich I suppose you could believe they were underhanded and stole money from others if you are a hard core Marxist and have zero understanding of real economies. However someone born in to it? How is that their fault in any way, shape or form? While I certainly don't pity them for begin born in to privilege, I don't hate them for winning the genetic lottery. Hell, all of us who are fortunate enough to live in developed countries and have Internet access won the genetic lottery globally speaking.
So seriously, get some fucking perspective and get some fucking humanity. I get tired of seeing rich-hatred on this site, it is as stupid as any other kind of blind, over-generalized, hate.
And before you point fingers no, I'm not rich. I work for my reasonably modest living. I just happen to understand that I am lucky even in what I have, on a global scale, and I've met people who make a good deal more and less than I do and found those that are kind and caring and cruel and callous in both groups. Money does not define a person.
Are you by any chance Todd Davis or Robert Maynard, Jr.?
I once received a 419 letter that took on the form of a death threat. The writer claimed he was a hit man contracted to kills me, but for a price, he would tell me who my enemy was, and sell me a video of the contract being made. It told me not to contact the police, or he would act immediately. I could tell from the broken English that it was a 419, but I did call the police, hoping they could catch the scammer. They couldn't. I imagine that a senior or eccentric rich person would have taken this seriously, and done what they were told. Naturally, as soon as they paid, the scammer would say their enemy had upped the offer, and they need more money. This story reminds me of that letter I recieved.
Stupid is as stupid does.
There is a lot of truth to it in terms of certain kind of scams. When you are talking immoral scams yes it is usually true. Things like the Nigerian "Help me steal millions of dollars from my country," things. Well you can't scam someone honest with that because it is a dishonest proposition. Even if you were 100% for real an honest person wouldn't do it because it is wrong.
However there are other scams that work perfectly well on honest people. Ones that play on fear are a good example. You convince someone is in danger and they have to do X to not be. No dishonesty there, they just don't want to be hurt. That is perfectly understandable. I mean if you were able to honestly convince me that my life was in danger and the only way out way to pay, well I'd do it. Now of course I'd be rather hard to convince of that fact, I have a good deal of faith in our police forces and my marksmanship, not to mention a good understanding of just how not worth it it would be to try and kill me. However supposing you found a perfectly believable set of evidence that could well and truly convince me then sure, because I'd think it was real and not want to die.
This leads to the second part that it is possible to scam people who are not as bright and who are credulous and/or gullible. While it may be trendy for geeks to hate on people who are less intelligent as though it was their fault, simple fact of the matter is that as with so much else in humans, intelligence is genetically determined and falls on a bell curve. Just as there are people who smarter than most, there are those who are not. Some people just cannot process data as well as others, cannot reason as well as others, and thus cannot identify and deal with scams as well as others.
So while I find this scam laughably stupid, well I'm a computer support and security professional. I know how this shit works, and the holes are easy to spot. For someone who doesn't know as much, and perhaps is slightly below average intelligence, perhaps it seemed far more plausible.
I'm really not sure that anything that should be classed as a crime has occurred here.
Anyone that dim should not have access to/control of anything close to that much money. It is far better for the nation and the world that the money is in the hands of the cognitively capable.
kartune85 : Incapable of reason, observation or learning. A kind of dim, drab, flightless parrot.
Something about a fool and his money...
No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.
One case of a rich individual being cheated by the relatively poor, as opposed to the situation our economy is founded on, the many poor being cheated by the rich.
What a shame.
Next time someone tells you that we shouldn't tax the rich because they deserve the money they earn, link them to this story.
The guys a fool living of his great-grand fathers success. It sounds in some ways like the scamers did more work for the money than he did. (Not that I think we should be rewarding them for being a-grade assholes)
"If you vote republican, your country will be in danger!"... It didn't work. I guess you can only fool some of the people....
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Yes problem is, that in between fixing my guitar, my laptop, my tv and my fridge, I need to find some time to become skilled in fixing the hairdryer. My family wants some time from me.
Of the above, only the laptop has access to sensitive information and the ability to send it to a third party.
For a millionaire, throwing the laptop in a wood-chipper and getting a new one would be a better bet than giving someone else access to your stuff.
For everyone else, learning to put a CD in a drive and click "NEXT" a few times to reformat/reinstall an OS should be within their grasp.
MOST people should be able to figure these things out if it was important to them.
The problem is it seems the media has done a poor job educating people on how important proper data handling is (see Facebook).
The past month met 4Chan with a Server log request to inquire about child pornography related to a classified court case, because government is become so corrupt that their own attornies and lawyers are trading it for more valuable works without changing the names and identities of the victims enough to be unidentifiable.
You have a lot to lose on 4Chan when your wealth is more than just numbers in a bank account: you can bring down entire websites by simply dispensing this wealth anywhere and pointing government officials at-it, as has been the case with Moot having to answer for it in such fatiguing ways.
Be warned! Information as weapons and currency: it only pulls down everyone, starting with the ambition to prosecute.
The thing that disturbs us nerds about so many people who have computer problems is how basic comprehension and problem solving seem to go out the window. Plenty of people who can understand a concept like transferring water from one large container to another with a cup and additionally can understand that the cup can only hold a certain amount of water seem to get entirely lost with pretty much the exact same concepts when you're talking about getting files from one computer to another using a flash drive. All kinds of things that really are dead simple (rather than me just _thinking_ they're dead simple) somehow become these super-complex tasks that break otherwise capable minds. Ever try to explain to someone that the best option after their computer virus infection is to just re-install the operating system because the computer is too messed up to recover? And they just don't understand why you can't just remove the virus? That same person will understand why, even after a necrotic infection has healed, the damage remains. When it's a computer virus though, just running the virus scanner should fix it, right?
Also, what reason is there that we trust mechanics? Not that all mechanics are crooks, but plenty of them will quite happily do work that you don't actually need done. Even if they're scrupulously honest, most mechanics I've known, while they've had the benefit of experience, have not been naturally good at diagnosing problems. So they'll brute force their way through a problem, using the benefit of their experience to get the answer right most of the time, but never bother to do some of the little things that could tell them that they're going down the wrong path with the first, second, third.... etc. expensive procedure.
Just, FYI, every car has headlight fluid, and you need to change it every time you change the filament. Even the new-fangled "filament-free" lights need their fluid changed, indeed the proper mixture is even more important for those lamps.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
I need to find some time to become skilled in fixing the hairdryer.
Clean out the hair. It's clogging up the airflow. Makes the heat-fuse trip.
Next!
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
I once owned a VW Karmen Ghia (yes it was a POS) and it needed a new clutch. I took it to an independent VW shop and the mechanic initially had a hard time sourcing a clutch for it. Finally he cross referenced and found a Porsche clutch that was identical. I asked if it would cost more and he told me "only if I install it in a Porsche".
Finally an honest mechanic.
If you aren't part of the solution, then there is good money to be made prolonging the problem
He got the peace of mind of knowing that that he was being protected from a devious Guatemalan assassin. Thats gotta be worth something.
The truth will set you free. Or possibly part you from even more money, if the truth happens to include copyrighted material.
Satis clankiller.com
He'd rather dick around with his guitar and TV than become informed about a two ton device that can kill others and that is one of the most likely instruments in a premature death of his children. His priorities are clear.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
I think the scammers should be alloud to keep the money. Hey, it was given to them under legitimate circumstances of protecting those wealthy people. Lord knows the wife of the Winchester house agreed to the house builders at the *seyance*(?). The same for U.S. Government employees should keep all those $Trillions for protecting Americunts of the Jewnited Straits from Tur'rist attacks of Fanny Packs and Champaigning on us with Bi-cameral furcative legislation extending to the hidden jurisdictions of the Several States burried since 1775.
Only a murderer is paranoid about getting caught murdering someone.
Only government is paranoid about letting a unlawful-tax Protester use Section 83a.
Only COPS are paranoid about meeting someone on an alleged "Traffic Stop" ignoring that "All Roads are Open as a Matter of Right to Public Vehicular Travel."
Only the people are disallowed from abducting the abductors, taking them to their own houses to dress them in
bright colors and threatening to tazer them for not surrendering Bank Account information to pay Theatre Tickets.
Yea we know it's 50-degrees and you are naked, but what do you have to hide in your rectum?
There is no cure for gullibility.
Apparently, all they were able to do was some primitive blood-letting analogue, in that they bled out some of his cash in order to stabilize his financial humours.
Perhaps you should try to not break so much stuff, you ham-fisted fuckhead.
He'd rather a professional deal with his dangerous device than make an expensive or fatal mistake fooling around with it on his own. I'd say his priories are in order. Now, go fix that skin rash with a google search and some caustic herbal concoction.
Needful Things reference FTW!
[...] just like nobody needs to program in cobol to know that when your 'tech' asks for 160k a month you might want a second opinion.
Yeah, because if you program in Cobol anything priced below 250k is highly suspicious...
Your torque converter isn't running low on torque is it?
That actually made me laugh.
You see, when the big day came up, the car was rather dirty. He didn't care. But his wife cared: "You can't show the car around in that state!"
So she washed it...
But the headlights were not 100% watertight...
So he failed the "technical control" due to "water in the headlights"...
Acceptable if this had been a reason cited for his reluctance to perform his own maintenance and repairs. He talked of a lack of available time. Time that, by his own admission, he directs towards dicking with his guitar and tv.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
A call to one of Mr. Davidson’s homes revealed a man’s friendly recorded voice, warning that, “If you leave an ad or any other such message, your telephone wire will be fried automatically.”
Not the workings of a healthy mind.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
...
I'd say he's not very good. He's confused headlights with turn signals. Turn signals need fluid with the right characteristics to wash around in the reservoir at the correct frequency to make them blink. Ask him about "blinker fluid" and watch him squirm. While your at it, ask him where to find the dipstick for the frequency grease. Your radio will get all staticky when it's running low.
Says it all, really. Fool, money, soon parted. Don't worry, I'm sure the lawyers will work on getting rid of the rest of the pile for him.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
In the other news, Invar is very angry for the deceptive behavior of his daughter.
. . . that I, who have a clean work track record (I have had bad clients with whom I have had problems, but I have NEVER even come close to being accused of stealing) have offered HONEST, LEGITIMATE, QUALITY services to some people, people who could seriously use the services, for very very competitive rates, along with verifiable (Google) samples of good past work, and . . . I swear, the asinine drooling miasmic paranoid racist fucktards literally act as if I am trying to literally steal from them, and these folks actually get to steal millions from some guy? Just like that? You have got to be kidding me . . . sometimes I really do think I ought to start committing crimes, I mean, I get treated like a criminal half the time already . . . might as well make some money while I am it . . . grgrgrgrgrrrr
SARAVA!
Well loathe as I am to play devil's advocate for the media, I'm not sure how this is a failing on their part. A day doesn't go by that we're bombarded with scare stories about identity theft, some civil servant losing all our data or some company playing fast and loose with our privacy. If you listened to the media you'd believe that the only way to be safe would be to live as a hermit in a cave divorced from society (and you'd better hope your cave doesn't have an address they can use to fake an utility bill to take out a credit card in your name).
The "failing" is that most people simply don't care about this stuff until it happens to them (or someone close enough to them for it to register). Try talking to the average person about securing their system against intrusion and you can literally see their eyes glaze over - people don't want to bother about the mundane aspects of computer security, they want to be poking people and sharing cabbages. People are certainly aware of the issues, but as always they tend to cling to the belief that it couldn't ever happen to them right up until the point that it does.
The difference seems to be the gullibility of the target. Both of those ingenius scams can be avoided with a little thought and perhaps some research, if someone is willing to take $100 from me for defragging my monitor do you honestly believe they'd not take $160k from me if they thought I'd be stupid enough to fall for it?
Please add that borg icon that goes so well with this newsstory's title... HTH
And don't most USians live in fear of the muslim terrorists and Obama's "Death Panels"?
You believe far too much of what you see on TV. Only about 15% of us are crazy, just like any other country. The rest are pretty normal.
-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
for the Dynastically Rich, seeing as the only act required to be rewarded that wealth was taking their first breath. I think Mister Gates has some wise insights on this. Can you imagine how horrible Bill Gates III would be with all of his GPs lucre?
"Buy now on DVD"? "Unlimited Bandwidth"? "Obama Death Panels"? "Terrorists will kill you"? "Saddam has WMDs"?
Funny how so many frauds are committed with the cognizance and even willing participation of those who uphold the law.
It's more like this:
Go in for inspection, dashboard backlight no longer works ( but it worked yesterday), back tail light is out (when did that happen), tire tread is too shallow (ok).
$400 later - hmm tire pressure is low (slow leak from a new pin hole or did they just leave it low to wear out tires early).
? Go somewhere else or go back and demand fixes (you'll pay either way) with potential for more problems. If you go somewhere else - devil you know or new potential scamming.
This happens when you are new to repair or in a new area. It could take a few tries to find someone you trust. Referrals can't be trusted as a smart scammer operating a legit business would maintain a list of "happy" customers.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Indeed. There was a story in the UK papers about a 3yr old child injured by a flying Chinese lantern. He was underneath it, making a wish, and got facial injuries from hot wax.
The father's comment was (paraphrased) : "Why are they selling things which are dangerous? They should make them safe, or ban them". Which makes a superficial kind of sense, but surely nothing is safe in all circumstances. We all laugh at labels on products that say "Don't stand underneath this hot, flying candle", but perhaps people could occasionally try keeping themselves safe, rather than relying on others to do so.
He didn't cite lack of available time. He said, quite clearly, that there are a lot of things vying for his attention, so he prioritizes those which he can accomplish the best.
Spending an hour learning about cars is not going to get you as far as an hour learning about Windows, a hair dryer or a guitar. Also, you have to look at the impact of not doing it right. That changes the importance and focus of the time.
WTF are you??
Who are you to tell me what I should or should not be able to do with my possessions...weather they be physical assets or money??
Part of possession, is the ability to give it to whomever you wish to give it.
It is not to you or the government to tell me who to give my possessions to...whilst I'm alive or who it goes to when I pass on.
How fucking dare you.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I hope he keeps your muffler bearings well greased and your blinker fluid topped off as well.
There are only 10 kinds of people in this world... those who understand binary and those who don't
This is what happens when Indians start fucking Icelanders. Stop it, just stop.
... who needs enemies?
You jest, but I've seen the "turn light fluid" used successfully on someone. It was after a rain during PMCS and a turn light on a hummer had an obvious "half full" fluid level. A new guy in the unit (who apparently didn't know much about vehicles or lighting) was sent on a mission for some "turn light fluid" to top it off with. The mechanics got a good laugh and a soldier became just a bit more cynical. Or how about the classic "hunt for grid squares" a second lieutenant fell for? My favorite was a sergeant who could tell any lie convincingly and with a straight face (often he would start with something small and plausible, then work his way up to to a real whopper). He managed to convince another sergeant that the setting sun was actually Mars on its closest approach to Earth ever.
The real lesson isn't that some people are idiots or know nothing, it is that *everyone* has a threshold of knowledge in some area past which they can be fooled.
He's someone less completely fucked in the head than you. "Duh... do some people have problems with fertility? Duh...." People as stupid as you should be glad the government lets you breed, let alone give money to your children.
The reason this guy got screwed out of so much money has little to do with his lack of knowledge about computers.
No, but I suspect the reason it got started was due to computers. I suspect these scammers often had fun poking around in the browser history of their customers, and they realized this guy was a) a paranoid who believes all sorts of crazy conspiracies, and b) rich as hell.
They could have just as easily been interior decorators who discovered his diary, and faked mail instead of email.
The real reason he got screwed out of so much money is that he hired some IT experts for 'security'. Instead of going to one of the thousand of reputable firms that would consult on this. In fact, rich people almost always have some sort of private security firm they're already using, so him not asking them about this is rather inexplicable.
Maybe they managed to convince him his life was in danger via computer, and they were the best to handle it, which makes him really really stupid.
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
Not entirely. Taxes are levied on any transfer of wealth/property; think of sales tax, etc. Just because you don't pay it on gifts during the normal run of things doesn't mean it's not owed.
Hmm...great, I now have an anonymous stalker.
And read my posts before you misquote them. I didn't say I didn't believe anyone had fertility problems, I merely was asking if it was that widespread. I didn't think it was so bad as to rate the attention it seems to garner in general.
And speaking of stupid, are we not able to figure out how to register for a real account on slashdot?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
but luckily, for a mere $160,000 per month, you can hire two computer repair techs to keep you alive!
They don't call them Geek Squad for nothin'!
He never stated that they were based on what he could accomplish best.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
.
Fuck him.
.
There is only two things getting kicked in the head teaches you.
.
1. Keep your eyes open or
.
2. Duck.
.
Voting up, Voting down - If I really gave a fuck about your approval or not, I'd come and ask you.
Vickram Bedi and girlfriend Helga Invarsdottir
Indians among most corrupt while doing business abroad
I'd like to buy homeland for our 10 million people. http://twitter.com/mahadiga
Oh, I know, I'm only slightly exaggerating my lack of knowledge about automobiles.
I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
Yes, Mr. Davidson, they are out to get you. You just misunderstood who they are.
Naivete and paranoia are a dangerous combination.
lol naivete way to misepll fkn loser
Although a multi-million dollar fraud is unusually large, it is not at all difficult to find frauds in the computer industry. It is so common, in fact, that it should be hurting business significantly, particularly for anyone who is honest. If people knew more about computers, they might realize the extent of it and demand action. We would probably be at war with a few more countries, in fact. There are that many scammers taking that much money.
I've been ripped off a few times, too, and I resent it very much. For example, I looked for an alternative to my music club (BMG). After searching through several options, I found one that offered me online music for a one-time fee. After I paid the fee, I discovered that all they were providing were instructions and shareware that wasn't theirs, that would access music that wasn't theirs, from people's torrents that wasn't theirs. When I complained, the person who took my money justified himself. It is evident that such people usually will justify their actions in their own minds, and so will continue their scamming as opportunity arises. The only way to stop them for certain is to kill them, which I wish we could do. If they won't stop, they deserve to die.
So, my take on the original story is, the potential 8- to 25-year sentence the suspects face is too light. How many other people have they conned? Will they actually change their behavior when they have future opportunities? They have the chance of doing it, again, and I suspect they will.
Taking stuff apart since 1969 (TM)
This guy should have been better informed: The Opus Dei isn't interested in people older than 12 ;)
-- 29A the number of the Beast
Just goes to show that having money means you could be as dumb as Sarah Palin.