The mind of a scammer

faol · Post by **faol** » Mon May 08, 2006 2:01 am

Well it seems that many of us at one point in time or another have been cheated or scammed by some person here whether it was Ticknor, Gester or some other brain child.

So my question is what makes this people want to scam cheat other fellow hobbiest? Maybe I'm a bit simple when it comes to this but dont we all share a common hobby that brings us together?

I've been milling over this for sometime and though I just put here for everyone to chew on.

GMMStudios · Post by **GMMStudios** » Mon May 08, 2006 2:29 am

Greed. Other than that, maybe just a need to hurt others. It's a shame, but it applies to anything else in life that has to do with scamming.

calebh124 · Post by **calebh124** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:01 am

Ticknorism. Ticknorism is a mental disorder that compels the afflicted to steal and scam inocent traders out of mini's models etc. That's my take on it

joseofsa · Post by **joseofsa** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:26 am

Greed, the rush of ripping someone off, being poor might make one become a scamer, ignorance in thinking you cannot get into trouble over the net. lots of things it all depends on how one was raised, what environment, and quality of life. But none of this excuses harming another weather it is physical, mental, or emotional.

calebh124 · Post by **calebh124** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:38 am

mine was a joke. I figure it's just greed and some people honestly do get a rush out of stealing stuff so it may be that

faol · Post by **faol** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:09 pm

calebh what you first said could very well be true for some it could be a disorder of some sort. You'd think those that didnt or dont have much growing up would be a bit more simpathetic about being fair but I guess I'm abit Idealistic

calebh124 · Post by **calebh124** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:19 pm

Yeah it could be. I'd love to see Ticknorism in a medical dictionary. And you'd think that but then again it doesn't seem that way. Yep I know about idealistic, I'm still hoping that the email i got from Max Martinez last night about how he shipped off all my stuff is true

arch_8ngel · Post by **arch_8ngel** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:26 pm

The desire to hurt others and a total lack of empathy are traits of a psychopath or sociopath, so yes...these people have a psychological disorder.

( 108 ) · Post by **Linrandir** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:11 pm

You're thinking of Anti-social Personality Disorder. I would agree, many scammers do display rather significant markers for this disorder.

For those who want to know more...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial ... y_disorder

http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-pe04.html

Alsiaie · Post by **Alsiaie** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:49 pm

True, but some people are just flatout @holes

faol · Post by **faol** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:39 pm

I have to agree with both of you there I just wish I knew what would push these "seemingly" normal :shock: errr average

ummm you know gamers to start ripping people off.

Do you just wake up one morning and your dog craps in yo shoes and say," that guy on bartertown I'm going cash his check and not ship him a damn thing!" or " well this is my 100th loss in warhammer so the next joker on bartertown or another trade forum I'm going to take his money and send him only a 1/3 of what he bought and the stuff I do send will be damaged."

I mean hell :shock: sorry admins and mods I'm 30 with 2 littleones and at times money gets darn tight and I love my hobbies from roleplaying to wargaming to rock collecting but it ripping someone of some fellow hobbiest or sending him damaged goods worth it just to get what I want?

In the end leaving a trail of anger, vengerful fellow hobbiest worth the scams, lies, and cheating?

WillFightForFood · Post by **WillFightForFood** » Tue May 09, 2006 1:44 am

Deleted Post

( 832 ) · Post by **MagickalMemories** » Tue May 09, 2006 1:46 am

I mean hell sorry admins and mods I'm 30 with 2 littleones and at times money gets darn tight and I love my hobbies from roleplaying to wargaming to rock collecting but it ripping someone of some fellow hobbiest or sending him damaged goods worth it just to get what I want?

See, though... there's an error in your thinking. You are being far too rational.
as someone said... it can be a mental affliction.
I can also be a desire to see others in pain.
In many cases, though, it is plain and simple greed.

"I need/want this, and I don't have the means to get it legally. So-and-so has it and I don't know or care about him. I can steal it from him and then it will be mine."
Many (like Steve Jones) think they cannot be caught. Others just seem to think it won't catch up with them... like there is some sort of anonymity on the net...
Max seems to have thought that he could not be caught up with. ticknor seems to have thought the same thing, too.

As I think about it, I wonder if, in a few RARE cases, it isn't possible that it's a desire to be caught. Either for the attention, or for the help they know, subconsciously, that they need.

Eric

( 108 ) · Post by **Linrandir** » Tue May 09, 2006 2:25 am

WillFightForFood wrote: I don't think antisocial personality disorder is a good place to reference here. In fact I tend to spurn psychology as a good source for considering anything as diverse as something like theft. Psychology as a field nests itself in vagueries to maintain its domain over non-physiological health.

Cite your sources for these statements, please. What alternatives do you propose, or is this simply an anti-psychology rant?

WillFightForFood wrote:Take for example the short list they used (probably should reference the bigger list on the wikipedia page for clearer definitions):
"A mnemonic that can be used to remember the criteria for antisocial personality disorder is CORRUPT[1][2]:

* C - cannot follow law
* O - obligations ignored
* R - remorseless
* R - recklessness
* U - underhandedness
* P - planning deficit
* T - temper"

Most of those describe the average teenage to mid-twenties male in some way, espcially the C, O, R(ecklessness), and P. A person that never displayed any of these traits would be abnormal. Not saying psychology can't offer some insights into personal behavior, but when it comes to something like theft of miniatures it's not the best place to start.

Then where is? Shooting one perspective down does not elevate any others, especially when no viable alternatives are offered. I note that you have missed a critical component of these diagnoses which is repeated before every list of behavioral criteria in every diagnosis in the DSM-IV: "Clinical Significance." Put simply, these displayed behaviors become clinically sigificant indicators for a disorder like this when they reach an abnormal extreme, persist for at least 6 months, and seriously & negatively impact the lives of the patient and others.
Many teenagers display some of these behaviors, though if you're going to take a medical field to task I suggest you not do what you accuse psychology of - utilization of vagaries. Cite your sources!

WillFightForFood wrote:A person that never displayed any of these traits would be abnormal.

Can you cite your sources for making this blanket statement? Are you a physician (not qualified), social worker (partially qualified), sociologist (qualified but hypocritical), or what? What studies can you cite to prove that statement?

WillFightForFood wrote:There are probably interesting individual reasons why each one of them first scammed and why they continue to scam or desist from scamming, but it's really hard to say from this end.

Wow, that kind of sounds like a psychological analysis. But...wait...can't be. You discard psychology as useless, so I guess this is...what? Results of a remote E-metering?

So. If you have a viable opinion, alternative, or anything intelligent to say on the topic then please, contribute. However, if all you have to contribute is ranting hearsay with no viable alternatives or presented authority then please, don't.

Just so we know where we all stand, I have a BA in psychology in addition to 2 years of work experience in the field. I also hold master's degrees in both Library Science and Information Science.

( 832 ) · Post by **MagickalMemories** » Tue May 09, 2006 2:36 am

Just so we know where we all stand, I have a BA in psychology in addition to 2 years of work experience in the field. I also hold master's degrees in both Library Science and Information Science.

Layman's terms: Bad Azz Librarian!

LOL

Eric