If I get an email offering me a $1000 for I DON"T KNOW SINCE I ignore it and don't even bother looking for other signs it is a scam.
If I get an email offering me $100 I may look more carefully and often they are legit (most common is to give a per-publication review of a math book---sometimes just questions, but more often a written report).
Most offers I get are either $1000 or $100. Today I got one for $750 which inspired this post (I ignored the offer without checking).
Which nets more people $100 or $1000?
1) If people are like me then $100 fools more people. But people like me will still CHECK CAREFULLY. I sometimes feed the email into ChatGPT for an opinion to see if it's a scam. (Spellcheck still things ChatGPT should be spelled catgut.)
2) Are there people who would fill out the survey (or whatever) for $1000 but not for $100? I ask non rhetorically as always. Are such people more gullible?
Would scammers make more money if they offered $100 instead of $1000 ?
1) More people would fall for the $100 scam. Or maybe not---do some people not bother if it's only $100?
2) Depending on how they are scamming you, will they get less out of it if they only offer $100?
Here are types of scams:
1) They send you a check for $1000 + x and say WHOOPS- please email us a check for $x. I've heard of this in the Can you tutor our daughter in math? scam. For this one, offering $1000 nets the scammer more money since for $100+x, x will be smaller than $1000+x.
2) They want to harvest your personal information. For these I don't think they will gain more if they do 1000 vs 100.
One more thought:
1) I said that for $100 I take it seriously but for $1000 I don't
2) I said that $750 I do not take it seriously.
3) What's the cutoff? Obviously $289.
Someone told me that scammers don't want to waste their time on people who are not complete idiots, that's why they offer unbelievable amounts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with dom. It's explained in the famous Microsoft paper "Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They Are From Nigeria?" From the abstract: "By sending an email that repels all but the most
ReplyDeletegullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to
self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his
favor."
Scammers are smarter these days. They have moved to offer investment opportunities. I am saying it non-rhetorically as always. They take you over a journey and build rapport. They start small and move on to larger amounts.
ReplyDeleteLook up Pig Butchering.
You should adjust your numbers. I've had legit requests for reviews and writing requests at $1000. But definitely be careful.
ReplyDeleteIf the subject line is `$1000 Gift Card' then beware. If the subject line is `Do you want to review a grant?' then that may be more promising. Even so, I suspect that will soon be used for a scam. Like the `do you want to tutor my daughter in math' scam.
DeleteNot bad , depending on length unless 1-2 page long … 100 of these 1000 type requests would be desirables semi passive income source. Law of medium numbers.
ReplyDelete