Idiots......

[Rich48]

I had something like this happen to me last year. I got a call saying it was the sheriff’s department and that there was a warrant out for my arrest because I missed jury duty. The guy sounded like a sourthen sheriff and at at first I believed him. He did not mention payment of any type for several minutes. He went on about could anyone have taken the notice from my mail. When he finally asked me to acquire a prepaid credit card and meet him, I knew it was a scam. I convinced the guy to leave his number and said I would get the card and get back to him. I then called the cops and reported him. I never heard back from the cops so I don’t know if they caught the guy.

 

[JRA]

I thought there was another category in there, maybe below idiot, called custodial.

wishful thinking, maybe. "custodial" begins at roughly 70 IQ points and increases dramatically as IQ plummets. e.g., many folks with IQ's of 40-50 or below are often tethered (literally) to something or someone.

 

[James Collins]

The elderly also get to a point where they mistrust their memory and think that it is plausible that they forgot to file their taxes. Scammers will often say something like "You remember last week when I called, we agreed that you would take care of this via our Itunes payment method because you were having trouble with your bank" and elderly people will just go along with it because they don't want to admit that they don't remember.

And they won't ask their family for the same reason.

 

[DirtDog]

I'm cool with @two fingers playfulness.

Just as long as I don't win.

Now you’ve pretty much guaranteed the win!

 

[Kevan Campbell]

Somewhere on the interwebz is a video of a sheriff conversing over the phone with one of these scammers. I’m not sure if there was some kind of investigation to deal with these people or if the sheriff just happened to get one of those scam calls on his cell phone, but he kept the scammer going for a good 10 minutes and almost couldn’t control his laughter the entire time. Maybe the most uplifting video I’ve ever seen.

 

[Bassbeater]

Custodial jobs generally require responsibility and common sense. Sometimes, depending on the size of the building or factory it can also be a very complicated job. Equating custodial jobs with intelligence is incorrect. I respect them for doing dirty jobs well and keeping the buildings working correctly. Even though we mostly just see them pushing a mop, there is typically much more to the job.

 

[bholder]

Custodial jobs generally require responsibility and common sense. Sometimes, depending on the size of the building or factory it can also be a very complicated job. Equating custodial jobs with intelligence is incorrect. I respect them for doing dirty jobs well and keeping the buildings working correctly. Even though we mostly just see them pushing a mop, there is typically much more to the job.

I think the word "custodial" is used in an entirely different meaning here - that is, the person in question must be accompanied by a custodian. Not at all the same thing as someone pushing a mop.

 

[Munjibunga]

I love it when the IRS calls. I call them back and keep them on the phone for as long as possible, only I'm 95 years old and don't pay taxes because they're unconstitutional. They hear all about my 36-year-old wife and my grandson of the same age who go to Bed Bath and Beyond together all the time and usually don't get home 'til after midnight. My wife doesn't let me talk on the phone, but since she's at BB&B, I'm free to talk to the IRS. She doesn't even let me talk to my 13 grandkids because she thinks I'm nuts.

Since the callers are obviously foreign and working off a script, they have a very difficult time keeping me on topic. Oh, and the agent that will show up in 45 minutes? "That'll be great! I've got some pound cake and I'll brew up a fresh pot of java, and invite my next-door neighbor over - he's an FBI agent and I'm sure you two will have a lot to talk about."

If they hang up on me, I keep calling them back until they block my number.

 

[two fingers]

Good news @Joe Nerve !!!!!

Me being Mr.Grumpy Pants is still beating you in the poll..... as are carrots and no.

 

[sissy kathy]

Ha, yeah if it bothered me that much I'd just keep scrolling. I just found it odd to ask in a poll.
but there are people out there dumb enough to fall for these things & sadly I'm related to a couple of them

I didn't know we're related.

 

[Wisebass]

How about the several people per week who look at me in my work clothes, while working, and ask me: "do you work here?"?

That question is not soooooo stupid.

When people ask me: "How many guys work on your construction site?"
I tell them: "I don 't know exactly, probably half of them?"

Wise(b)ass

 

[D M C]

https://deadspin.com/idiots-hold-idiot-summit-1797659081 :
"...the public was treated to a rendition of one of Aesop’s lesser-known fables, The Troll, the Moron, and the Stooge. There was no real moral, just a reminder that a sizable portion of the internet consists of opportunists tugging on their own nuts and screeching when they feel they haven’t received enough attention in the last hour."


Contemporary:
Classification -- IQ Limits ---- Percent of Population
Very Superior --- 128 and over -- 2.2%
Superior --------- 120-127 ------- 6.7%
Bright Normal --- 111-119 ------- 16.1%
Average ----------- 91-110 ------- 50%
Dull Normal ------- 80-90 -------- 16.1%
Borderline --------- 66-79 -------- 6.7%
Defective 65 and below ----------- 2.2


"Historical" IQ Deficiency Classifications
70-80 ------ Borderline deficiency
50-69 ------ Moron
20-49 ------ Imbecile
below 20 --- Idiot

My IQ has dropped a couple of categories since I began following this thread.

 

[two fingers]

My IQ has dropped a couple of categories since I began following this thread.

 

[Wisebass]

We have a generally intelligent and daily improving society.
Here's a quick view to a scammer's brain, it's very easy : they look specifically for the dumbest and more vulnerable people.

Ever wondered why fortune teller flyers are full of spelling mistakes? Why mail scams are badly designed? Why phone calls try straight for authority rather than credibility?
It's all the same single reason. They want to make sure the people that fall for it aren't too bright.
With better spelling, concealled links in a clean portal and more clever plots, they'd attract more people but they would be more intelligent and/or educated, which would make them less prone to fall into the trap.

This is why caveat emptor can't be the only rule. You have crooks around looking specifically for the weakest people. Your old aunt, your ******** nephew or the gardener neighboor that never learnt to read.
Some may think that weak people deserve what they get, other that they must be double protected.
Like for most things in our lives, it's a political choice that leads the path of a society.

great post!

or should I say...

greetings

Wise(b)ass

 

[ScrewDevil]

That question is not soooooo stupid.

When people ask me: "How many guys work on your construction site?"
I tell them: "I don 't know exactly, probably half of them?"

Wise(b)ass

But I work retail and wear a uniform. Lol

 

[ICM]

https://deadspin.com/idiots-hold-idiot-summit-1797659081 :
"...the public was treated to a rendition of one of Aesop’s lesser-known fables, The Troll, the Moron, and the Stooge. There was no real moral, just a reminder that a sizable portion of the internet consists of opportunists tugging on their own nuts and screeching when they feel they haven’t received enough attention in the last hour."


Contemporary:
Classification -- IQ Limits ---- Percent of Population
Very Superior --- 128 and over -- 2.2%
Superior --------- 120-127 ------- 6.7%
Bright Normal --- 111-119 ------- 16.1%
Average ----------- 91-110 ------- 50%
Dull Normal ------- 80-90 -------- 16.1%
Borderline --------- 66-79 -------- 6.7%
Defective 65 and below ----------- 2.2


"Historical" IQ Deficiency Classifications
70-80 ------ Borderline deficiency
50-69 ------ Moron
20-49 ------ Imbecile
below 20 --- Idiot

The fact that human beings can be classified as "defective" sounds a little hitleresque. (I know you didn't say that, it's just the term). How about "handicapped"? You'd think PC culture would have changed that by now. Especially since the use of the word "********" is not socially acceptable. Getting down to pure denotation, both "********" and "defective" quite literally mean what they mean, no harm no foul. However, in a connotative sense, both words allude to there being something "wrong" or the existence of a "problem"...not trying to start a debate here, just making a linguistic observation.

 

[ICM]

The whole in you logik is that people that r mentally ill or have lost metal capacity because of dementia do not no they are ill.

My brother has had a brain dysfunction for nearly 50 years that has kept him from living a full life so I know everything you all are talking about.

It's cruel to make fun of people you don't know, whatever their actions are.

I understand your point. With all due respect to your brother, even though he does not know he's ill, he's still ill, ergo he doesn't deserve to be scammed.
Also, I hope you don't think I was making fun of people in the position of your brother, if you do, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

 

[Mark Reccord]

Well, people non-ironically believe the earth is flat and space is fake, so...

 

[ICM]

Well, people non-ironically believe the earth is flat and space is fake, so...

Someone once tried to convince me that the earth was only 6000 years old and that dinosaurs helped build the pyramids of Egypt. This same person also believed homosexuality was a choice. He was beyond help. He's a magician now.

 

[JRA]

The fact that human beings can be classified as "defective" sounds a little hitleresque. (I know you didn't say that, it's just the term). How about "handicapped"? You'd think PC culture would have changed that by now. Especially since the use of the word "********" is not socially acceptable. Getting down to pure denotation, both "********" and "defective" quite literally mean what they mean, no harm no foul. However, in a connotative sense, both words allude to there being something "wrong" or the existence of a "problem"...not trying to start a debate here, just making a linguistic observation.

"mentally ********" is no longer socially acceptable, but it was a clinical term of use as recently as 2013. the social security administration officially changed to "intellectual disability." (the US congress adopted that new term in 2010.)

history: the term "mentally ********" was at one time the preferred diagnostic label (socially acceptable!) over such terms as "feeble minded."

when it comes to 'labeling' others: things change!