DAILY PROMPT
Fraud
Human nature being what it is, it seems fair to assume that fraud has been alive and well and living among us since we first crawled out of the primordial slime.
And back in the days when times were hard enough for me to have the odd flash of understanding for those who robbed banks, I might even have come up with a flicker of sympathy for those perpetrating fraud to keep a roof over their children’s heads. (Perhaps it’s built into the national DNA from the first European settlers, sent here for stealing loaves of bread, shooting the Earl’s grouse etc.)
But times have changed and so has fraud. With all our cunning technological advances and the whizz-bang speed of modern communications, fraud has become the sport of financial kings whose children already have several roofs over their golden heads and enough food on their tables, metaphorically speaking, the feed the starving masses.
Yes, I know ‘petty’ fraud still flourishes as well, and I’m sure corporate fraud has been around for more years than anyone cares to acknowledge, but these days, it’s more likely to produce an eye-roll than a shriek of outrage, so commonplace has it become.
I find this infinitely sad: a rejection of ethics by those who have every reason to know better and no motivation except greed: those to whom much has been given, and who, so the bible tells us, should therefore realise that much is expected of them in return.
But then the bible was written before the days of offshore accounts.
I still don’t understand. I’ve been the victim of fraud at least twice and probably more, if you want to count the credit cards and loans and bad refinancing et al. And I do not understand what kind of people DO this especially when they really don’t need the money.
I don’t understand either. I put that down to growing up with ethical standards and a conscience, both of which are now apparently outmoded.
Yeah, but still God had to proscribe against theft, envy, usury, adultery etc. We’re just deeply flawed….
I sometimes wonder whether people do these things because they’re bored, and a scam ,makes them feel smart and edgy.
From what I’ve been able to piece together, fraud-sters do it because of the thrill more times than not. Because they “can”…ultimate entitled thinking. And actually there are still screams of outrage. When one of those low life, scum suckers do someone out of money the victim cannot afford. I have an elderly on-line buddy – a man, who recently got dinged for $500 because of something along the fraud line. He won’t give details, he’s pissed off, and he has ‘yelled’ loudly about it. He also clearly feels like a moron for falling for whatever scheme it was. Another elderly friend, a woman, whom I know IRL, almost lost $200 to a phone scam. Fortunately her daughter was on the ball and caught the problem before any money was actually lost. Me? I’m paranoid to a horrifying degree and have all kinds of security in place. I also don’t have the kind of funds that make fraud attractive, but then my friend losing his $500 didn’t have any money either. He lost his medications, his house payment and some other necessities to the scam. I believe in karma. And I believe firmly that those cretins doing that stuff get theirs.
I’d like to think they’ll get theirs, but I’m not altogether convinced. And I certainly don’t think they’ll necessarily learn from it if they do.