[HN Gopher] A scammer's blueprint: How cybercriminals plot to ro...
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       A scammer's blueprint: How cybercriminals plot to rob a target in a
       week
        
       Author : giuliomagnifico
       Score  : 31 points
       Date   : 2026-01-20 20:23 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.reuters.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.reuters.com)
        
       | arcfour wrote:
       | The presentation here was really interesting. It felt like
       | reading a magazine story on something back in the day. Wasn't a
       | huge fan of just how much I had to scroll sometimes, but still
       | cool overall.
       | 
       | It's really dishearting to imagine how the victims feel after
       | this. Being so vulnerable to someone you trust only to learn it
       | was a ruse all along to scam you is probably one of the most
       | awful feelings I can imagine, on top of the missing money.
        
       | BeetleB wrote:
       | These cases can get quite interesting. They interviewed an
       | investigator on a local show, and he said they often intercept
       | money going to a scammer, and contact the person to inform them
       | they were being scammed. Up to that point, the sender has no
       | idea.
       | 
       | It can take quite a bit of effort to convince them they've been
       | scammed. The usual reaction is "You did what?! I was sending
       | money to a loved one. How dare you!" They then have to give the
       | sender a sense of the evidence they have, etc.
       | 
       | And some percentage never believe it and remain upset. And will
       | then resend the money through other channels.
        
         | giancarlostoro wrote:
         | > And some percentage never believe it and remain upset. And
         | will then resend the money through other channels.
         | 
         | Elderly people I assume?
        
           | BeetleB wrote:
           | The common denominator is "having money", which elderly are
           | more likely to have.
        
         | alecco wrote:
         | The problem is banks and financial institutions have been
         | blocking legitimate transfers for ages for anything above $10k.
         | I lost count how many times it happened to me. One time a large
         | sum of money was in limbo for almost 5 days and I needed it for
         | an urgent government deposit in another country, ironically.
         | 
         | I wish Crypto or something like that takes off and wipes them
         | all out one day.
        
           | BeetleB wrote:
           | Yes, but in this case it's not a standard message from the
           | bank, but an actual human contacting the victim trying to
           | explain the problem to them.
        
       | JackFr wrote:
       | I read these and it's beyond my comprehension how people can get
       | sucked in and fall for it. And yet I know I'm not special and I
       | think back on periods in my life where I was depressed, under a
       | great deal of stress very apprehensive, and I wonder "Could they
       | have gotten me then?"
       | 
       | (My mother who is 88 years old has been so indoctrinated in scam
       | avoidance that she refuses to set up an online password for her
       | bank, and totters to the branch every two weeks to do her
       | banking, where they plead with her to do it online. But she's not
       | gonna get scammed. Also she finds the idea of a new romance at 88
       | "repulsive".)
        
       | throwaway888666 wrote:
       | Nice. I love if a scammer contacts me. I always send a goatse
       | picture, this does the job
        
       | accrual wrote:
       | Intense. It's unfortunate so many are affected. Imagine "a senior
       | uniformed figure like a general" messaging you and within a few
       | days, asking for a $20k deposit. It feels like we've failed
       | people as a whole to not light this kind of deception up like a
       | torch. Perhaps it points to a deeper lack of connection within
       | humanity as a whole.
       | 
       | What is enabling so many people to be like "oh, I got a random
       | text from an unknown number, I guess I'll trust it and
       | potentially marry this person and send my life savings to them"?
       | That is a catastrophic failure and it must be commonplace enough
       | to enable an entire industry to pursue it.
        
         | navigate8310 wrote:
         | I think this is partly because past generations have too much
         | of a baggage of high trust societies. We live in a new era
         | where everything and anything is being wagered. Essentially,
         | sharks have found a way to unlock the value.
        
           | phainopepla2 wrote:
           | I don't think you're entirely wrong, but the idea of trusting
           | strangers being "baggage" is sad
        
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       (page generated 2026-01-20 23:01 UTC)