Phishermen have no shame...

[seawasp]

... Got a spam/Phish message purporting to be from the CDC and asking me to create a "personal vaccination profile" for use in controlling H1N1 spread.

I really wonder how anyone can fall for these things; it's asking for stuff that the Constitution would forbid the government from doing, and all you have to do is mouseover the link to see that it's not going to the CDC, but to some server in another country.

Comments

[seawasp]

As I heard it, it was simply "Send your dollar today!" -- which was a version of a common tagline on various appeals for money at the time. This one simply omitted the detailed appeal to your charitable sensibilities and asked for the money directly.

[lilfluff.livejournal.com]

I heard about a case back in the mid-late 90s, where a person did a web site in which they said something to the effect of, "I am $X in debt. I wasn't cheated, it's a combination of $X in student loans and Y x $X from not paying attention to how I was using my credit cards. Yes, it's my own fault but I want to be debt free. I have figured out it will take X years to pay this off on my own. If you would be willing to offer a $5 gift I promise it will go directly to paying down my debts." With a paypal button at the bottom for paying $5. As I recall they paid off the debt in a bit over a year.

I also recall hearing that the copycat sites didn't do as well, with the theory being that the first person to do so got a, "Oh why not, they aren't really begging and at least they're honest about it," while after that people saw the others as greedy copycats just looking for the money. Although with many more people online now, there might not be as big a problem with that.

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

I remember some years ago a kid wanted to go to college but didn't have the money for it, so he wrote a letter to <well-known national columnist> asking if WKNC could write about him (the kid) in his column and ask readers to send in $1 towards his college education. He got easily enough money to go to college with.

All the other kids who subsequently tried to work the same thing got squat. In many instances, it pays to be the first person to think of something.

[lilfluff.livejournal.com]

Or to do easy but time consuming work. I read about a girl who was able to go to college effectively for free. She did it by starting early in her sophomore year, obtaining one of those books that lists groups who offer scholarships preparing packets for every source listed in the book. By every source I mean every one, from front cover to back whether or not she appeared to meet their requirements.

The two key elements:
*By starting preparations in her Sophomore year she was able to spread the work out ever enough time that it didn't interfere with her life, while still preparing thousands of applications.
*Depending on how the funds are set up, they may be required to pay out a certain amount each year, so if there is money left over after the fully qualifying candidates they will start looking at anyone else that applied.

So two years later when she graduated from high school she found that she had enough offers from people giving grants that she didn't need to take out even one loan.

Seems to me there are many things in life where we short ourselves by looking only at the total work/time involved and not stopping to ask, "But if I go one step at a time, how easy is each individual step? Hey, that isn't so bad, is it?"