IRS scams:A taxi driver saved an elderly woman from being scammed out of $25,000
cnn.com
cnn.com
A week later, he asked me again to clean malware off his system. I asked him how it got back on there, and he told me Microsoft called and said his system was infected, and thus began the tech-support scam. I said "Um, did you forget you already paid me to remove that shit? You just invited that guy to put it back!"
I looked at his config and more "drivers" with similar names appeared in the list that weren't there before. Finally he was convinced the other ones weren't part of his music hardware install and that I should delete them.
While doing this, he confided in me that he had just lost $1500, because a girl he met online from overseas was supposed to visit him, and whatever happened so she had to borrow money from him for the ticket. But gee golly, she never showed up. He was surprised, because she sounded so nice.
After that, I refused to do any more work on his computers. Although I did tell him if he continues to feel like throwing money around indiscriminately at every scam that shows up, I'll gladly quote him for fake services just to keep him happy and broke.
For the first time ever, he declined.
Anyway I note that a misspent youth of getting into minor legal trouble and tax-dodging can actually be beneficial, in that you learn how these agencies actually work and what constitutes a legitimate government action. Is it on paper? Was it (preferably) served to you at the front door by a uniformed deputy?
What is the difficulty/cost/risk level of making a phone call anywhere in the world vs. outfitting someone in a convincing-looking police uniform of that area? Type of thing. I know I'm preaching to the choir...
Maybe if I get one of these calls I'll tell them "Just go ahead and send a deputy like usual." Except no, because if they're especially spiteful they might S.W.A.T. me.
/half sarcasm
There's the problem. It's no small task to understand the underlying functions and behaviors of a complex system.
It's easy to recognize a "violent criminal". You know it when you see it. Something much more complicated like the IRS? You don't know what you're looking at.... or if it's even legit/legal.... entirely shrouded in mystery and fear.
The real threat is the one you don't know.
Europe / UK:
Large cash withdrawals are a thorny issue for banks because of the various scams which have seen some older people conned into handing over large sums of money to fraudsters. On top of that, banks are petrified about falling foul of the regulations on money laundering and financing crime, and being hit with huge fines, so they get twitchy about “unusual account activity”.
> The British Bankers’ Association told us: “There is a clear tension between providing customers with easy access to their money and protecting them from the threat of a fraud that could have a devastating effect on their finances. If you are planning to make a large withdrawal, we recommend you talk to your bank in advance.”
- https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/12/big-cash-withd...
America / US:
> Federal law allows you to withdraw as much cash as you want from your bank accounts. It's your money, after all. Take out more than a certain amount, however, and the bank must report the withdrawal to the Internal Revenue Service, which might come around to inquire about why you need all that cash.
- https://finance.zacks.com/federal-banking-rules-withdrawing-...
Asia / India:
> An Indicative List of Suspicious Activities:
> Transactions Involving Large Amounts of Cash ... > Transactions that do not make Economic Sense ... > Activities not consistent with the Customer’s Business ... > Attempts to avoid Reporting/Record-keeping Requirements ... > Unusual Activities ... > Customer who provides Insufficient or Suspicious Information ... > Certain Suspicious Funds Transfer Activities ... > ... Check list for preventing money-laundering activities:...
Another idea is to show a Warning screen on ATM etc before the cash withdrawal screen comes up. The screen should clearly explain the typical IRS scams. This may not prevent all of them but may help.
Who decides that your decision has been proven impaired, and how?
>Ah, so a question: if your decision-making abilities have been shown to be impaired once, would giving veto powers on any large-scale decision to people you have previously appointed, be an acceptable solution for society?
trying to get tech solutions that go agains political will is waist of time - work on political first [on cnn] then come here for [tech] solution