Recently, my Wife and I purchased a cabin in Branson, Mo. It overlooks Lake Taneycomo and we plan to visit occasionally and rent it out when we're not using it. Recently we received a rentlal request from the U.K. They wanted to rent it for two weeks. I became suspicious when the check for the rental originated from China.
Sure enough today I received the email kicker. They had inadvertantly sent a check for twice the amount, and would I please refund the balance via Western Union. This is a scam that has been going on for some time.
If the folks involved were in the U.S. or in the U.K., I can see they could be easily caught. However hiding in China with their fear based government, the folks involved pretty much have a safe haven.
When most of us read about a situation like I described above or think about computer hackers or scam artists in general, we think in terms of a few folks in a back room with their computers whirring in the background hatching elaborate schemes to rip off folks here and there. However, this incident touch a subject I've been noodling for some time. What if this and other computer pervalent scams deriving from China are not the work of a few larsenous individuals, but the product of an organized effort by a corrupt and fear based government. If they are really hostile to the U.S. wouldn't this be a perfect way to wage economic war against the West and make some money at the same time?
Paranoia in SoCal is at the red level.
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