Today I pondered the benefits of being gullible, this after being approached by a scammer this past week and by being told that Facebook would donate money to Haiti if I posted a particular status message today.
The Facebook bit seemed par for the course: Post something in your status bar, and they would donate $1. Yeah, well…I posted it only to immediately be told by someone that you could find the truth of the matter on Snopes.com. I guess I really am pretty gullible, but it’s nice to think people or organizations might do something good and nice and right in the world.
As for the scammer, I felt a bit dubious about the whole scenario, but I refused to just dismiss it out of hand. Here are the details: I was approached via an email asking if I would offer my writing and consulting services to an organization promoting the opening ceremonies at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer. I was to come to South Africa for a month and interview Rhianna and Akon and write a book about the blood, sweat and tears that goes into putting on this type of event, likening it to the blood, sweat and tears of the athletes preparing for the tournament. For this, they would pay me $500,000. ย I know, it sounds too good to be true. It was pretty creative on their part, though, to find a writer…an aspiring author…and make this type of offer as their scam.
So, I asked a variety of questions, and three or four emails went back and forth before I told my agent I would want her to contact them (or them to contact her) and I contacted FIFA to find out if this company existed or in any way, shape or form was affiliated with the soccer organization. As it turned out, they were not. In fact, the organization and the South African government knew of several similar scams.
Was I gullible? To a certain extent, yes. I knew in my gut, this likely was a scam, but I didn’t want to dismiss out of hand the possibility that it could be for real…just like I wanted to believe that Facebook might donate a dollar to the Haitian earthquake victims for each person who posted a particular status. In the case of the scam, thinking for just a little while–without giving away any personal data and while being very careful (because I knew it could be a scam)–that I might actually be offered a fabulous opportunity made me feel great. The thought of a large paycheck for my work and an exciting trip, felt super. I thought if nothing else it would be fun to relish that for a little while as I checked out the truth of the matter.
Now, I could have dismissed the whole thing out of hand. I could have been negative and pessimistic and said, “This is too good to be true. It must be a scam.” (I could have said the same about the Facebook charity offer: “Facebook would never donate a $1 for each status message. It’s a hoax.”) That would have gotten me nowhere. Yes, I might have wasted a little less time by hitting the delete button immediately and getting rid of that email. I wouldn’t have wasted any of my agent’s time either. However, neither of us would have had the chance to imagine money coming in or exciting negotiations or the fun we might have had if the opportunity had been real.
Now, I’m not advocating falling prey to scammers, not by a long shot. Notice that I was careful and I never gave away any personal information, like bank account numbers. I just allowed myself to feel what it might be like, to imagine a trip to South Africa and writing a book based on interviews with famous musicians. I also imagined having the money to pay for both my children’s college educations.
That little creative visualization might make me gullible, but it also made me a good creative thinking . It helped me get into a feeling place with my thoughts of success and prosperity. It didn’t, however, make me feel like a victim, since I also allowed myself to feel just dubious enough to question the authenticity of the offer. Now I didn’t do that with Facebook, having little to lose but a little face…I like to believe that people are good and giving.
Therefore, I go on believing that some benefits exist to being gullible…just not too gullible. Try it the next time you get one of those letters telling you that you inherited a fortune. Before you hit “delete,” just imagine that it’s true. Read the whole letter through. See yourself receiving the money…then hit delete, and thank the scammers for a moment of creative visualization and thought.
