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Crooks con woman using 'magic' bracelet- Police just as Stupid

Here is an example why regulators don't have a clue about con criminals.

The Vancouver Sun reports:

"An elderly Chinese woman was tricked out of $20,000 earlier this month by a trio of women who convinced her that she should buy a bracelet that had magical powers.

Vancouver Police official Const. Jana McGuinness said Friday that the trickery was a blatant case of preying on an elderly, vulnerable woman, and appealed to anyone else who has been similarly conned to come forward.

We know people might feel embarrassment from being tricked like this but we want them to come forward so we can put a trace on the people doing this," McGuinness said."

First, if you think that someone is going feel embarrassment from being involved in this fraud, you should not bring it to their attention. Rather, you should ask whether the magical bracelet worked, or whether there was something that the wearer did wrong.

The reason for this is that once a person has fallen for the magical bracelet scam, they will believe that although the bracelet was indeed magical, somehow they failed in invoking those powers.

Second, never suggest that the victim was elderly and vulnerable - who is going to answer to that description, even if true.

Finally, don't describe the victim in such a fashion as to bring ridicule. We don't know from this story what "magical" meant and why it resonated with this individual.

The core of the story should focus on why the trick worked: and if the reporter doesn't know, he or she should simply report a crime.

Related articles

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• Scammers charge senior $20,000 for lucky bracelet [via Zemanta]

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on June 24, 2008 (boomark / email).