Question

Imperfect information is pretty common. Many people who got caught up in variable interest mortgages claimed not to know the interest rates would go up after a few years. Many people have been defrauded in Ponzi schemes. Not too long ago a poor elderly lady was discovered to still be paying $3.00 a month to rent her phone from AT&T, something that was done way back in the 70s and before, when you could not own your own telephone. One recent scam that has surfaced are people calling to help unknowing suspects to sign up for Obama Care and getting payments, which is stolen money. Another is people calling and claiming the person missed jury duty and demanding money to pay off a fine. Do you know anyone that has been defrauded or suffered simply because they did not know what they were doing? Discuss.

Answer 1

I do not know anyone personally that has been defrauded but it’s all too often that you hear of elderly people getting taken advantage of because they’re too trusting or just don’t know what’s going on exactly. My sister recently received a “bill” from a company that said on her 21st birthday she was transported via ambulance to the Nebraska Med Center. When I saw the letter, I was very skeptical because she turned 21 a whole year before - why wouldn’t she have received anything prior to even if it was true? She called the number listed and a lady asked her, “You don’t remember the ambulance ride?” She flat out told them she didn’t forget but that it never happened. The company claimed they would call her back with more details but they have yet to. A few weeks ago, she got a letter from the crooks at Merchants Credit Adjusters saying that they had received her delinquent debt from the ambulance service and that she needed to pay up. I led her to some government sites to show her how to get them to stop harassing her over falsified information. It’s amazing to me how fraudulent accounts can be passed off as legitimate. From looking at the letters she’s received, I can easily see how people would think it was real. Luckily for her, the fake company slipped up and used a memorable date! No one forgets a girl on her 21st birthday being taken to the hospital!