Con Job

You know when something is too good to be true, and you know it is, but you bite anyway, and then you get burned? Well, sometimes the bite is only to your pride, while other times it can take a real bite into your freedom of movement and possibilities for employment.

Yes, I’m talking about fraud.

According to the law, one commits a fraud when, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, whether or not it is a false pretence, one defrauds the public or any person, whether ascertained or not, of any property, money or valuable security or any service.

So, what does that mean?

Well, let’s say a friend of a friend says she can get you a really good deal on a car. She says a friend of hers has an old BMW that she’s looking to get rid of for $2,500 cash. And she shows you some pictures and, after a while, you convince yourself that this could be so. You agree to meet the friend of a friend of a friend with $2,500 burning in your pocket, and you hand over the cash in exchange for the keys.

She tells you that the paperwork is all being handled, and all is well; so, away you go in your new Beamer.

And then you get pulled over because it’s been reported stolen.

Guess what? After doing a lot of explaining at the police station, you realize that you have been the victim of a fraud and are out $2,500.

Or, let’s say your neighbor says that he can bypass the Cable Company and wire cable right into your house. Free.

And the Cable Company somehow finds out and, guess what? You’re busted.

No fair? No kidding. You are defrauding the Cable Company out of monies for service.

Let’s face it—we all want something for nothing, or as close to it as we can get. And sometimes we manage to convince ourselves of some pretty silly things. But you know what? If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is to good to be true. And no one ever gets anything for nothing.

Because we all know this, we feel embarrassed when we do get defrauded or ripped off. In retrospect, we tell ourselves, we should have known that we were either being victimized or victimizing someone else. But there is that little place in all of our hearts that says the world ought to be nice to us. And we so want to believe that.

And, for the most part, the world is a reasonably good place to be and life does unfold as it should. When one tries to circumvent the system, and one gets caught, one can easily try to convince one’s self that one shouldn’t be penalized because, really, you didn’t mean to do anything wrong, and you weren’t really hurting anyone, and….

But you did do something wrong. And you knew it was wrong and, quite frankly, you really didn’t care that you might have been causing anyone else grief. And so, in a world of Crime and Punishment, you will be punished. If you were a victim, you will be humiliated and will quite likely not see whatever monies you have thrown at this scheme ever again. If you victimized others, you will be criminally charged. And you will quite likely be convicted. And this conviction will have some significant implications on your future.

Buyer Beware.

*by Sgt Judy Nosworthy