THE American movie 'The Beekeeper' starts with the story of an old woman who gets scammed by a corporate cyber-scam that hacked her email and wiped out her savings and a significant trust she was responsible for.
The devastating impact of the scam leads her to take her own life. The scammers are depicted as heartless, celebrating their actions and plotting further scams, which adds to the film’s tension and the drive for justice.
Much like the elderly woman in the film, I have encountered people in my own life who have been similarly targeted by financial fraud which left them feeling depressed and facing jail imprisonment.
I remember a young man who lost his job during Covid and was tempted to invest his savings by a scammer who contacted him through a social media programme and convinced him to wire the money in the promise of huge profit in a short time. But to his surprise the scammer withdrew the savings and stopped answering his calls or replying to his email.
This made me curious to know the psychological tactics used by the scammers and what made some people more vulnerable to fall for such scams.
My search led me to a podcast titled (Fraud) that investigates the complex world of organised financial fraud.
In the podcast, the journalist interviews victims and goes undercover as a potential customer to expose the fraud firsthand.
The podcast highlighted how scammers use fraudulent investment advertisements that appear legitimate, promising quick and guaranteed profits — sometimes claiming daily returns of up to $2,000.
The scammers use powerful psychological tactics such as building personal connections with their victims, using their first name, and asking them few personal questions like their jobs and the name of their eldest son or daughter.
They also used religious phrases to support their claims and build a trusting relationship with the victims while some faked a local accent when speaking to appear more genuine and trustworthy.
One of the interesting observations was that victims were generally reluctant to report the scam to the authorities probably because they feel shame and blame themselves for falling to the trap.
Those who tried to recover their money experienced more emotional difficulties as they ended up being scammed by others posing as lawyers who demanded payment to start the legal process to retrieve the money. Poor victims fall for this in the hope that they can recover their losses.
Another interesting observation is that most victims are of the older generation who are not very familiar with the importance of being vigilant and not sharing banking information with strangers.
Some scammers started using artificial intelligence to record the voices of your loved ones and use them to make calls when they appear to be in distress claiming they have lost their wallet or credit card and asking you for an urgent transfer of money.
With more advancements in technology, scammers are more likely to adopt new and sophisticated techniques to lure their victim. It is important for all of us to stay vigilant. Whether it’s an email from a stranger or a panicked phone call from a ‘loved one,’ always verify before you trust.
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