Someone fell for it? $400k fell for it!

ok now I am going to have to find a way to work "if i swing my smoke ball" into normal conversation. funny stuff

I'm a licensed minister, was once CPR certified, and I'm sure if I were in an immersive environment I could pick up any second language. And I'm going on my eighth year of undergrad.

Didn't say that any of those things makes you dumb. Just that they don't make you smart, either.*

Like owning a car.

*Dumb and smart, in this context, used to refer to critical thinking skills.

First, Happy Birthday!!!!!

Second, I just find it funny because no matter what we try to judge anyone on, the truth lies in more than just words on a computer screen. I have been CPR certified, speak Mandarin and could be fluent in French with some freshening up, and taught Sunday School.

I am, however, fatally flawed by my life experiences which weakens my abilities to make average common sense decisions.

Shit, I qualified for MENSA but I have shitty credit.

it's not necessarily critical thinking skills (or any other sort of intelligence) that matters. even clever people can be emotionally exploitable, especially in an environment they're not familiar with--which, for many people, the internet is.

Indeed. And it looks like the grifters that got this woman put some work into it. The money was her long-lost father's, they produced all kinds of official-looking documents, etc. It wasn't your random email scam.

Nice reference.

-TM

I like the one where someone tells you their is a contract out on your life by someone you know, and it's the supposed assassin emailing you for money to call it off.

How to Run a Con