Are People REally THIS Stupid

[Kor37 9]

Louisiana couple made people believe they could diagnose their medical problems via satellite

AP

Posted: 2007-12-05 09:57:31

MONROE, Louisiana (AP) - A Louisiana man was sentenced to more than four years in prison for bilking friends and family out of more than $800,000 (euro543,478) by convincing them his wife was a government agent who could arrange to have their medical problems diagnosed by satellite imaging.

 

Brent Eric Finley, 38, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Monroe to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. His wife, Stacey Finley, was sentenced in August to spend 63 months in prison and both are ordered to jointly pay $873,786.94 (euro593,605.26) in restitution.

 

The Finleys pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud, according to court records.

 

U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington said the couple convinced people that Stacey Finley was a CIA agent who could schedule a medical scan of the victims' bodies by satellite imaging.

 

The Finley's convinced their victims that, if medical problems were found, secret agents would give them medicines while they slept in exchange for payment, according to a bill of information filed when the Finleys were charged in May.

 

"These audacious criminals should remind all of us that scam artists will go to great lengths to take our life's savings," Washington said in a statement.

 

 

You know, I can understand most of this to some degree but I really worry about the people who fell for THIS line:

The Finley's convinced their victims that, if medical problems were found, secret agents would give them medicines while they slept in exchange for payment, according to a bill of information filed when the Finleys were charged in May.

:huh:

Edited December 5, 2007 by Kor Kringle

[Wishfire 2]

Some scams are incredible. It's incredible that people fall for them, and it's just as incredible that someone thinks them up.

 

My favorite one is the one where you send $25 for a guaranteed bug killer. In return, you get a two-by-four with the instructions "hit bug with wood."

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Various government agencies and private research firms do studies in people who fall for such scams. You know what demographic falls for them the most?

 

It isn't the old and senile.

 

It isn't the young and naive.

 

It isn't the desperate and destitute.

 

Sad to say, but the largest demographic to fall for these scams is CORPORATE EXECUTIVES. This is especially true for variations of the Nigerian Bank scams. And these are the people who make decisions on a daily basis that help shape our economies!

[Theunicornhunter 2]

 

Sad to say, but the largest demographic to fall for these scams is CORPORATE EXECUTIVES. This is especially true for variations of the Nigerian Bank scams. And these are the people who make decisions on a daily basis that help shape our economies!

 

Now that's depressing and scary.

[Wishfire 2]

I think it's rather amusing. Scary, yes, but amusing nonetheless.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

I don't know if these reports look at the number of scams or the dollar amounts involved or both. It isn't as if they are spending corporate assets instead of their own. It's not even necessarily an ethical issue if they were ignorant of the scam and the law.

 

It does make you wonder how people with really bad judgment end up running companies however.

[Wishfire 2]

Hmmm... I wonder if we could scam President Bush? Who wants to try with me?

 

:huh:

 

Who's that at the door? Oh, crap, it's the Secret Service...

[oldfan1 0]

Yes people ARE that stupid. This reminds me of a great scam from quite a few years ago that will probably will make a comeback with so many people going "green" due to alleged global warming. They were selling a solar powered clothes dryer for $200 - $300, you got a package in the mail containing a length of clothesline and a package of clothespins. People bought these things sight unseen, you did get a solar powered clothes dryer not not one worth more than $3 at that time. This was in the pre internet days, imagine how many they could sell now.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

That reminds me of the time Penn and Teller sent someone to an environmentalist rally to collect signatures to ban bihydromonomide (bihydro - 2 hydrogen - H2. Monoxide - single oxygen - O. H2O. Water.)