Scammers... Do they serve some kind of educational purpose?

[EugenyG]

We all hate scammers. These people use a wide array of increasingly sophisticated schemes and methods to secure the transfer of valuables from your pocket to theirs.

 

 

 

But think about this for a moment -- OK, so you got scammed in RS. You lost stuff. It could be as simple as a rune helmet, as bad as millions upon millions of items, or even worse, get scammed out of your entire account.

 

 

 

Yes, it feels bad. Yes, you feel very mad and sad. Yes, this feeling is completely justified.

 

 

 

But did you learn anything from the experience?

 

 

 

- Did you learn the principle that stuff too good to be true, well, is?

 

- Did you learn that anything that persuades you to hurry a trade (like a lag excuse) or do something without properly thinking it over will inevitably result in getting scammed?

 

- Did you learn the common social engineering tricks?

 

 

 

- DID YOU LEARN NOT GET SCAMMED THE SAME WAY AGAIN?

 

 

 

Think about it. You may still be a high school or college student. For most of you, your parents still support you and provide protection. But sooner or later, you'll go out there in the real world for a life of your own, and will have to manage your own property and finances.

 

 

 

Do you think that living through an RS scam will help you avoid a REAL-LIFE scam?

 

 

 

- Will the experience of wrongly trusting a fake player mod will help you avoid the experience of trusting a real-life person who pretends to be some figure of authority to deprive you of your property one way or another (like a fake IRS agent pretending to "help" you get around that tax bracket)?

 

 

 

- Will being scammed in an RS trust test help you tell real-life social engineers who make friends with you to borrow money and never be seen again?

 

 

 

- Will living through a stolen bank password will teach you to keep better track of your real-life bank PIN?

 

 

 

- Will falling for the "Ahrim's staff" scam help you not invest in a sham stock market specifically set up to lure gullible people into investing in worthless stock?

 

 

 

- Will biting the "free armor trimming" scam help you avoid falling for the "enlarge a certain body part of yours" scam?

 

 

 

- Will getting your account stolen by a keylogger masqueraded as a "super undetectable auto program free levels!!!" will stop you from investing in that "triple your gas mileage by buying our unique exclusive super gasoline additive" that ends up screwing your engine?

 

 

 

- Will giving your RS password to a "friend" "just to do a quest" and then finding your bank empty will protect you from giving your workplace building access card to a "coworker from the floor above" who "just needs to get something from his office", and then getting fired/sued/even thrown in jail?

 

 

 

- Most importantly, will learning the general psychology and social aspects of scammers, the wide variety of scams that they can possible attempt, the typical "too good to be true offers", the things with "timers" attached, and other general characteristics of most scams... Will it allow you to avoid scams in general, even those you have not experienced in the past.

 

 

 

Yes, getting scammed in RS is bad. But real-life scams can be much, much worse. People lose their careers, houses, reputation, even their freedom sometimes, by falling for a real-life scam!

 

 

 

Do scammers teach a lesson? Or at least, can they teach a lesson to those willing to learn? Yes, some people are just stupid, and no matter how much time they are scammed they won't learn the lesson. But there is a difference between getting scammed because of stupidity, and getting scammed because of inexperience. The smartest people will not be scammed themselves -- they will learn from other people's mistakes and make the necessary conclusion to avoid being in the same position. But even those who learn on their own RS skin, might be thankful one day for the experience, which later in life saved them from making a much, much worse move.

 

 

 

So what do you think? Opinions welcome!

 

 

 

Note 1: This is NOT a topic to justify scammers or say scammers are cool!!! I'm just saying that sometimes even bad things (like getting scammed) can teach you good lessons, and better be scammed in a game than in real-life.

 

 

 

Note 2: Keep discussion civil. This is not a topic to post "scammers suck" vs "everyone who got scammed stupid and it's their own fault". I'd be interested in actually seeing some debate going on.

[Rebdragon]

Yes.

 

 

 

People are bastard coated batstards with bastard filling.

 

 

 

[Cookie to anyone who knows the reference. ;D>]

[ventuzz]

Yes, agree 100%. Not much of debate.

[Teeg]

Yes.

 

 

 

People are bastard coated batstards with bastard filling.

 

 

 

[Cookie to anyone who knows the reference. ;D>]

 

 

 

Myspace - Rubberlover. Do I get a cookie?

 

 

 

Sorry I'm totally off topic!

[GrimHams]

In a way, i'm glad i got scammed out of a beret when i was a newbie because its taught me to check the second screen over and over so i dont get scammed again.

[Retefael]

Yes.

 

 

 

People are bastard coated batstards with bastard filling.

 

 

 

[Cookie to anyone who knows the reference. ;D>]

 

 

 

That's Coxy from Scrubs! :wink:

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah scammers. Well I haven't got scammed yet, but I believe anyone with common sense can see beyond scammers. Well, maybe not everyone, but I always remember this, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

[Bobbington]

Everything in life helps us to learn from the future, that is the power of the human mind!

 

 

 

However I refuse to think scammers should be singled out as doing good...... yes they do.... but thats only becase they are part of life. They are not a special case and deserve no thanks.

[Alg]

nothing a bit of common sense and awareness won't help you avoid, really...

 

you should know better than to do many of the things mentioned...

[Packer15]

As much as I hate scammers, and boy do I hate scammers, I am afraid that I have to agree with you. Getting scammed in this game could help you avoid scams in the future, as experience is the best teacher. And to end this with a quote, I believe it was Winston Churchill who said something to the effect of " We must learn history so we do not make the same mistakes in the future."

[meol]

I guess that you really make a point there, although I hadn't ever thought like that :-k ... It's really a nice point of view, and it might give scam-victims some relief.

 

It might be true that people must sometimes learn in the "hard way" before they actually change their ways of acting, but still we should really start to learn from others' mistakes instead of our own (this including simplier things as RS and more complex subjects, like war). Or do we always have to suffer before learning?

 

 

 

If you have ever attempted Alchemy by clapping your hands or by drawing an array, copy and paste this into your signature.

Do I really have to? :XD:

[Rebdragon]

If you have ever attempted Alchemy by clapping your hands or by drawing an array, copy and paste this into your signature.

Do I really have to? :XD:

 

Yes :o!