The E-Suckers List
from the sounds-like-fun dept
It's probably not much of a surprise to anyone, but online scammers tend to keep lists of users who are easy to scam -- and, of course, those lists get passed around (read: sold) among other scammers, so once you've been taken in by one, expect to be taken in by many more. Of course, the warning about this list comes from the Office of Fair Trade in the UK, and the announcement about it certainly implies that they actually have a copy of one such list (though, there's no real evidence given). If that's the case, why not contact those on the list, and let them know they're on the list? Wouldn't that be much more effective than making a general statement?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
What's the OFT going to do?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Mmmmmm
Maybe a little public humiliation would get people to smarten the heck up.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Not a bad idea
Just human nature.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Hello!
It has come to our attention that your name and contact information is being passed around certain circles as part of a list of people who have fallen for scams and other con jobs in the past.
In order to ensure that you don't fall for such similar scams in the future, please consider our patented "sucker-blocker" safety feature.
For only $99.99 per day, we'll make sure that your name and information stays off this list.
Don't be a sucker - pay up!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Mmmmmm
Maybe a little public humiliation would get people to smarten the heck up.
So what happens when the insurance companies start chanrging these people more for being on the list and banks deny loans or whatever. How about when scammers (or someone else) starts putting out fake lists with say politicians name on the list, especially just before an election. Would this lead to a protection racket "Pay me $X or your name goes on to the sucker's list"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
note to self
[ link to this | view in thread ]
In a related announcement...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Mmmmmm
I mean I'm sure there would be a legal way to fight this. Just like there's a way to fight bad credit when you are the victim of identity theft (although in my opinion, fighting THAT is a huge pain in the ascii and made more difficult for the victim than it needs to be....)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Mmmmmm
[ link to this | view in thread ]