During 18 years on international cruiseliners, as both performer and director, Stephen Cloete has learnt a thing or two about people. This, combined with a hatred for misinformation, lead him to investigate the schemes used to exploit people’s vulnerabilities. Stephen shares this knowledge in a book entitled Scammed.
Story by Hayley Dennyson
Click here to stand a chance to win one of three copies of Scammed by Stephen Cloete.
“Magicians are trained in deception and misdirection, but it’s for entertainment, not harm,” Stephen explains. “I feel it is my social responsibility to inform vulnerable groups of the scams they may encounter. I am not challenging belief systems. Rather, it’s about demonstrating how particular scams work so that people can avoid being taken advantage of. These can include astrology and numerology readings.”
The book looks at different genres of scam – how they work and how to avoid them. It also includes the history of some well-known scam artists and how they were caught.
“It’s not just the gullible and uneducated who are targeted,” Stephen continues. “I have seen some intelligent, worldly people caught out by sophisticated scams.”
Essentially, a scam is a trick set up for financial gain. Con artists have been around for thousands of years, but the growth of social media has made it possible for these criminals to gain personal information on hundreds, if not thousands of people with relative ease. Just think how much someone could find out about you with a quick search of the web – full name, date of birth, phone number, where you live … sometimes even your children’s names and your daily routine. It just depends how forthcoming you are with this information online.
Did you know that there is a black market operating within Facebook? In 2014, there were over 14 million fake profiles on the social network. For what purpose?
“Think very carefully before you click, believe or share posts on Facebook. There are people who make a career out of harvesting information through a technique called click baiting,” says Stephen. “They will set up a fake account, for example, and generate posts with the intention of getting people to share them.”
These take advantage of issues that people feel strongly about, such as an ill child asking for shares to show you care, a rallying call for rhino conservation or a quote about the power of friendship. Once you share these posts, the original poster is given access to your information. Recent examples include a fake Emirates account, supposedly giving away free flights for life. This post had thousands of shares in a matter of hours. The user information is then passed on to unsavoury characters for use in their scams.
“I did an experiment, setting up a fake account; a made up name with random photos taken from the internet. Within 24 hours I had 50 friends and it grew exponentially from there until I started receiving friend requests!”
So, how could these scamsters use your information? In one example, someone watches your Facebook activity and finds out that you are going to be overseas. They set up a fake account with all your information and your friends accept this new profile, assuming that there’s been some kind of glitch. Then, the fake sends a message, saying that you’ve been robbed and need money. Of course, your friend knows that you are overseas and is happy to help. Money is transferred and the scam is complete.
Another one is perhaps more shocking because it involves children. “The scam artist phones, claiming to be from your child’s school and that he has been in a minor accident. They need you to transfer an amount of money before the doctor will go ahead with a very simple procedure. Obviously, you want to make sure your child is taken care of, so you transfer the money immediately, only to discover that it is all a lie.”
Whether online, on the phone or in person, think carefully before you believe what is being presented to you. As much as you may want to trust the people you encounter, sadly, they do not always deserve it!
Scammed is available at all good book stores.
http://showboat2.wix.com/scammed