Conned, tricked, spammed, slammed and scammed!

Apparently, we are getting ripped off more and more. It is now so prevalent that Nigel Latta, New Zealand’s go-to psychologist, has done a television series on the subject: You’ve Been Scammed. In this series, Latta demonstrates the various psychological tactics used by scammers to cajole, confuse and coerce people into unwittingly forking over wads of their hard-earned cash.

He exposes the tactics used by scammers, the psychological ruses they use to gain the confidence of their targets. These include playing on people’s Fomo (fear of missing out) by insisting time is running out to take advantage of a particular gold-plated opportunity. Even sleight of hand and distraction are used, the scammers conjuring up the skills of a classic magician.

Over the school holidays, we had our granddaughter stay. One of the activities she took part in was magic – she had a magician’s box of tricks which she used to enthusiastically perform tricks to her various whānau members. Tiny pompoms disappeared into false thumbs, cards appeared and disappeared, and a magic wand was waved about with much flourish. Tune in to Latta’s show and he will show you the allure of the magician is all part of the scammer’s toolbox.

It’s always baffling when you hear of people getting scammed, particularly when you know them and know they are otherwise sensible people. A few years ago, a friend of mine was convinced they had been randomly selected to get an overseas trip at a heavily discounted price. The international jaunt included a Caribbean cruise and five-star beachfront accommodation.

They put down a $2000 deposit. I managed to convince them this was a scam using those tried and true cliches like ‘if something seems too good to be true, it probably is’. They eventually conceded and managed to have their bank reverse the financial transaction to get the $2000 back. Believe it or not, the scammers got back in touch with my friend and somehow managed to convince them to pay the $2000 again. Jaw-dropping! The scammers were obviously very talented in the art of manipulation. Time went by. The holiday never came. The $2000 was gone. The subject was banished from conversation.

The NZ Cerebral Palsy Society, which provides its members with financial support that can go towards things like gym memberships, Riding for the Disabled and transport costs, has been targeted by people pretending to have cerebral palsy and joining their organisation. This has forced the organisation to ask their members to provide proof of their CP with a medical certificate.

Having cerebral palsy myself, I have always felt somewhat incredulous when asked to supply proof of having cerebral palsy. I mean, it’s very obvious to everyone when you have cerebral palsy. To fake cerebral palsy in person would be no mean feat! Although Daniel Day-Lewis did nail an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Christy Brown, an Irish writer and painter who had cerebral palsy in the movie My Left Foot. To my mind, an actor who actually had cerebral palsy would have been far more appropriate, but that’s a whole different kettle of fish.

Leah from Tiaho Trust was approached by someone fundraising for deaf people when she was in Paris. The person pretended to be deaf. Another scam. Leah thwarted the attempt by conversing back to them using sign language. The scammer quickly disappeared, with their cover blown by their obvious lack of repertoire.

Yes, sadly, disability can be a platform to launch scams by unscrupulous operators. Genuinely disabled people are possibly the best detectors of such disingenuous exploits. Nothing about us without us. Particularly if you’re using our disabilities to scam others.

Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust – Disability A Matter of Perception, a Whangārei-based disability advocacy organisation.