OT: Why Do Scammers Scam?

[RL]

To answer your question....

Because they can.

[steve B]

I'm not sure it's a lack of willingness to work, some scams and usually the most successful - at least in hobbies- take a lot more work than just legitimately buying and selling.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by RL

To answer your question....

Because they can.

Agreed!

And well said Mark, and nothing new. Some people have been trying to figure out how to cheat and swindle others out of what they have probably as long as humans have been around. And it will likely continue as long as we continue to exist, unfortunately.

[Bicem]

Lack of empathy for sure plays a role.

[Orioles1954]

I have a family member (now deceased) who was a scammer outside of this hobby. I'm completely ashamed that they did so. For them, it was a rush.

[Casey2296]

When I first started collecting pre-war as a naive 21 year old, I was taken by our local card shop owner, his name was John Ianacello, now deceased (rot in hell you POS), He sold me two 1933 Goudey Dover reprints as authentic after we had been doing business for quite awhile, I had very little money, we would talk about cards all the time and I trusted him so when I had saved enough for my first Babe Ruth card, a #181, he sold me a fake and he knew it.

We can all tell the difference between the two now, thanks to this sub but back then there wasn't any Net54 or anybody who knew about pre-war that I could turn to other than John. I didn't discover the ruse until years later, it broke my heart because I considered him a friend.

I still hold on to that Dover #181 Ruth today as a reminder to trust but verify. And because every card needs a thread here's what I replaced the Dover with when I got back into the hobby.
-

[JollyElm]

494. Leap Frauds
The hackers and scammers who continue to jump from one platform or account to another after being exposed time and time again.

See also: Whack-A-Troll - the endless pursuit of warning other collectors about new scam artists appearing on the scene.

See also: Scamster Wheel - the scumbag mindset of always searching for new and innovative ways to rip off people.

[G1911]

To make money.

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

When I first started collecting pre-war as a naive 21 year old, I was taken by our local card shop owner, his name was John Ianacello, now deceased (rot in hell you POS),

Phil - self-described "Big John" got me good too and many, many others in our area.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by MooseDog

Phil - self-described "Big John" got me good too and many, many others in our area.

Was Big John the guy in the Bay Area that had a bunch of Raiders jerseys at his show tables in the late 1980s?