Community Chat

[Kachina624]

[sparklestar]

Wow, people really are out of touch or gullible or just plain dumb.

[Kachina624]

Remember all the phone calls people complained of receiving from the IRS ddemanding money?  That's this group of crooks.  I imagine most of the victims were elderly and/or ignorant.  We had posters asking what they should do.  Nice to know the calls will cease.  @sparklestar

[chrystaltree]

Good but anyone gullible enough to fall fall for a scam like that deserves to lose their money.  There are times when blaming the victim is appropriately.  We had a case locally, a woman was boo hoo hooing on tv.  She was about 60 and didnt appesr to be developmentally challenged.  She didn't think she owed tax money but when she got a call telling her she owed $10,000 to the IRS, she followed the instructiins.  She put the money on gift cards and mailed them to a PO box.....twice...lol.   And called herself a victim....lol

[Kachina624]

There is a generation of people who are honest, law-abiding citizens who trust every word their doctor tells them and thinks the government will do no wrong and it's their duty to obey when told to do something.  I wouldn't say they deserved to be scammed; they're gullible honest citizens doing their best to do the right thing.  The scumbags in Florida took advantage of their gullibility and exploited them.

[Noel7]

Wow, people, they targeted the elderly, many od whom deal with medical issues, ate on strong medication or may be suffering from cognitive decline.

Many also deal with fear often, including what would one do if the other was in jail in this case and they were left alone.

* Please excuse the typos due to iPad trouble.  The glitch is not allowing me to correct. 

[Noel7]

A lot of people in cognitive decline may seem perfectly normal for awhile.  It does not mean they are always capable of reasoned judgement.

And that is the reason they are targeted, they are vulnerable.  They are easy marks. 

[chrystaltree]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

There is a generation of people who are honest, law-abiding citizens who trust every word their doctor tells them and thinks the government will do no wrong and it's their duty to obey when told to do something.  I wouldn't say they deserved to be scammed; they're gullible honest citizens doing their best to do the right thing.  The scumbags in Florida took advantage of their gullibility and exploited them.

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        Why do you assume that only elderly are clueless?  Thr case here involved a midfle aged working woman, who had reveived a tax refund.  And she stll fell for some ridiculous phone call.  The fact is some people are just stupid and it spans all generstions.  IRS scams are more likely to target people who are still working and filing tax returns, not the elderly.

[Noel7]

Senior citizens are the group targeted in this area.  But it's true people of other ages can fall for it.  They can have their own issues.  

Or, as you say, the can be less than very bright.  They are either born that way or there's another reason, none of which means the got what they deserved.  

[Kachina624]

I SAID most of the victims were elderly/ignorant.  They have determined MOST were elderly.  Your right, some people are just plain stupid to the point where they'd believe an anonymous phone caller.  So it's okay to scam stupid people?  Most elderly people file tax returns.  They wouldn't likely be concerned if they knew they owed no tax.