In the interest of fairness, I should (gently) point out that the same sort of scam has been pulled on Canadian seniors here at home.

It’s a particularly low kind of ripoff, but (sadly) not unique.

I have an elderly grandmother, and I made a point of explaining this piece of “artistry” to her.  She was shocked, and then very firmly stated her intention to spread the word to her friends.

Most older folks have yet to become acclimated to the level of fraud and dishonesty the world has grown into.  They still believe that there is good in everyone.  And expect them to show it.  Unfortunately, that is no longer always the case.

daveprime - 02 January 2011 02:30 PM

Most older folks have yet to become acclimated to the level of fraud and dishonesty the world has grown into.  They still believe that there is good in everyone.  And expect them to show it.  Unfortunately, that is no longer always the case.

I doubt that it’s a case of there being a greater proportion of dishonest people these days.  I think it’s more a case of dishonest people now having the miracle of modern telecommunications and rapid financial services to reach their victims more efficiently.  A hundred years ago, scammers had to either write out and mail individual letters, or else travel to their victims in person.  Now they can just write an e-mail and reach a million people with the click of a button, or sit at home and make telephone calls.

Accipiter, I think you are entirely right.  There is no reason to believe that there are proportionally more dishonest or criminal people today than there were 100 years ago - in fact, the proportion may be slightly less.

However, the modern crook has a much wider field to play in, so it may be much more lucrative to be crooked today than at any time in the past.