Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

Abstract

063">This is where the discerning seller will notice something is off.</p><p id="c615" type="7">Amy, do you have no questions?</p><p id="69de">At this point, I sometimes tell them it just sold. Other times, I string them along, if it’s a particularly slow day, with:</p><p id="04c3"><i>I’ll need your full name, and vehicle make and model in order to let you in the gate.</i></p><p id="2d18">I live in a gated community. It’s very handy for these situations, although the gate doesn’t need to know anything about their car.</p><p id="f680">Then Amy never gets back in touch.</p><p id="57dd">Or, sometimes she insists she still wants to come over and, just for the sake of making her feel worse about herself than she probably already does, I text:</p><p id="b806"><i>It’s SOLD.</i></p><h1 id="38ef">Scenario 2: The Persistent Buyer</h1><p id="66ac">Some buyer-scammers believe you are dumber than a turnip and keep asking for personal information like phone and name and address long after you tell them no.</p><p id="6acc">In that case, “it’s sold” isn’t enough.</p><p id="dadf">These people are almost always recognizable by their:</p><p id="6778">— Bad grammar</p><p id="bb9a">— Bad spelling</p><p id="73f6">— Lack of punctuation</p><p id="fe35">— Urgency</p><p id="c82f">It’s hard to believe a person is sending these messages because they are idiotic. It’s obvious they are scams.</p><p id="f30b">But why would AI use poor grammar?</p><p id="0207">Future scammers will figure out how to NOT:</p><p id="0aff">— send a message two seconds after you post</p><p id="af3d">— act like they have to come over right now</p><p id="1501">— use crap grammar, demonstrating they are not native English speakers</p><p id="546a">The true gems of the secondhand buying game are people who schedule an appointment to come by, then text to make sure the deal’s going down, then come by and pay full price.</p><h1 id="eadc">Final Sad Thoughts</h1><p id="cdee">Although it’s mildly amusing, the whole scenario makes me slightly sad for humanity. Who are these people, who are spending their time sending such texts? Why are they so desperate or stupid or mean-spirited to be making a living trying to steal your information?</p><p id="4746">And the answer is either they are dumber than a box of hair and being scammed themselves, sociopaths, or so poor they will do literally any work because they are hungry.</p><p id="b296">Then I snap myself out of it and recall all the great deals I’ve offered and how someone is poised to get $150 worth of fishing gear for fifty bucks.</p><p id="5616">And that someone will be meeting me in my driveway, and I’ll have his name and number and vehicle make and model.</p><p id="20ab"><a href="https://jeancampbell-25104.medium.com/subscribe">Want an email heads-up for new articles? Click Me</a>.</p><p id="6d3e"><a href="https://medium.com/membership">Want to join Medium? Click Me.</a></p><p id="e8c4">Jean Campbell<i> is b

Options

ased in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She has been writing on </i>Medium<i> for three years, and is proud to report her income has plummeted less precipitously than several other excellent writers on this platform!</i></p><p id="d2fe"><i>Her <a href="https://jeancampbell.substack.com/"><b>Substack</b> newsletter</a> </i><b>Get Published</b><i> chronicles publishing </i><b>City of Lies: A Street Hustler’s Omaha Story </b>and <b>Down and Out on the Road South (</b><i>pending publication with <a href="https://wingsepress.com"></a></i><a href="https://wingsepress.com">Wings ePress</a>!)</p><div id="742a" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/my-gop-friend-base-is-growing-9a7d984b33b9"> <div> <div> <h2>My GOP Friend Base Is Growing</h2> <div><h3>When in Rome</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*kxpAzEVsY2MpVpHk)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="e1d1" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-puzzling-death-of-an-old-friendship-14af1a2ae195"> <div> <div> <h2>The Puzzling Death of an Old Friendship</h2> <div><h3>Slow ghosting cruelty and radio silence from afar</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*T7M_jXwNzWXyhKRt)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="99ee" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-hunt-for-a-nurse-with-a-purse-dcf742dffae5"> <div> <div> <h2>The Hunt for a Nurse with a Purse</h2> <div><h3>Desperately seeking seniors for romance and more</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*VDAeDBh2iDhIFA1U)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="5180" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-real-reason-people-in-the-1970s-were-thinner-9f4752f3594"> <div> <div> <h2>The Real Reason People in the 1970s Were Thinner</h2> <div><h3>Remote controls are a plot to fatten then kill us</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*WZIMlw0__OzPd_lT)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Getting Scammed Online: A Guide to Being Less of an Idiot

It’s depressing how many criminals are out there

My fishing dreams are all dried up and someone is about to get a screamin’ deal. Photo by author.

Long ago, before I was jaded and bitter and old and generally disappointed in humanity, I posted several items for sale on Craigslist.

It was not the first time, but it would be the last time anyone came indoors to view my wares.

I got scammed, I guess.

About a month later, our house was burglarized, which was pretty common in Tucson. I attributed it to the guy who answered the “keyboard for sale” ad, because our house was so homely and forlorn on the outside, no one would ever have targeted it.

Once inside, Keyboard McLowlife saw our dazzling array of electronics and impressive collection of DVDs and told his friends.

They stole all the good seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, those heartless thieving rat-bastards.

McLowlife was casing our place. I bet he even lied about being a musician!

Few good things came out of the burglary, aside from learning the Tucson PD would take 45 minutes to show up when you called 911 and said you weren’t sure if the burglars were still inside the house, and also learning everything they say about Craigslist is true.

Online buying and selling is a seedy world, much more like a market in Blade Runner than a trip to Walmart. You gotta go in with a three-day growth of beard, a weapon, and a bad attitude.

FB Marketplace: the New Scam-a-Lot

I still sell online but I no longer use Craigslist because I live in Arkansas and we have one for the whole state. Facebook is easier, anyway, what with the dumbed-down format.

In case you are wondering, I have some bitchin’ deals going on right now.

You can get a scratching post for only $75, a grill for the same amazing price, and get this — a whole lotta fishing gear for whatever you offer!

I post, and I’m always disappointed when some scammer is the first to respond.

When you get a lightning-quick response, as if someone has been lying around their apartment waiting for a grill just like yours — rusty and undersized — their whole life, that’s when you know.

They’ll send this kind of message:

I Wanna buy & pickup it Please text me..(501) 389–xxxx

That one was from “Amy.” You’ll be thrilled. You’ll text Amy. Then you’ll get this response:

What’s your address? I wanna come get it right now.

This is where the discerning seller will notice something is off.

Amy, do you have no questions?

At this point, I sometimes tell them it just sold. Other times, I string them along, if it’s a particularly slow day, with:

I’ll need your full name, and vehicle make and model in order to let you in the gate.

I live in a gated community. It’s very handy for these situations, although the gate doesn’t need to know anything about their car.

Then Amy never gets back in touch.

Or, sometimes she insists she still wants to come over and, just for the sake of making her feel worse about herself than she probably already does, I text:

It’s SOLD.

Scenario 2: The Persistent Buyer

Some buyer-scammers believe you are dumber than a turnip and keep asking for personal information like phone and name and address long after you tell them no.

In that case, “it’s sold” isn’t enough.

These people are almost always recognizable by their:

— Bad grammar

— Bad spelling

— Lack of punctuation

— Urgency

It’s hard to believe a person is sending these messages because they are idiotic. It’s obvious they are scams.

But why would AI use poor grammar?

Future scammers will figure out how to NOT:

— send a message two seconds after you post

— act like they have to come over right now

— use crap grammar, demonstrating they are not native English speakers

The true gems of the secondhand buying game are people who schedule an appointment to come by, then text to make sure the deal’s going down, then come by and pay full price.

Final Sad Thoughts

Although it’s mildly amusing, the whole scenario makes me slightly sad for humanity. Who are these people, who are spending their time sending such texts? Why are they so desperate or stupid or mean-spirited to be making a living trying to steal your information?

And the answer is either they are dumber than a box of hair and being scammed themselves, sociopaths, or so poor they will do literally any work because they are hungry.

Then I snap myself out of it and recall all the great deals I’ve offered and how someone is poised to get $150 worth of fishing gear for fifty bucks.

And that someone will be meeting me in my driveway, and I’ll have his name and number and vehicle make and model.

Want an email heads-up for new articles? Click Me.

Want to join Medium? Click Me.

Jean Campbell is based in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She has been writing on Medium for three years, and is proud to report her income has plummeted less precipitously than several other excellent writers on this platform!

Her Substack newsletter Get Published chronicles publishing City of Lies: A Street Hustler’s Omaha Story and Down and Out on the Road South (pending publication with Wings ePress!)