Amateur Psychologists Fleecing the Professionals

The Grifters are putting the screws to the Psychotherapists. Irony, it seems, isn't dead after all. 'He held me hostage with no gun but with his words': The phone scam gaslighting therapists

First, what the scam entails.

Scores of therapists in California and throughout the country have fallen prey to similar phone calls, according to messages on professional list servers, news articles and warnings from industry associations.

The script varies, but there are some constants. The victims are women, many of whom list their work cell phone numbers on a website for people seeking therapists. (Some were actually notified by the site that someone had requested their contact information the same day the calls came.) The perpetrator is a man with a confident tone of authority. He tells them they are in legal trouble, but he can help them avoid jail time if they pay a fine or bail. He coaches them to buy gift cards.

The gift cards should be a warning sign. Anyone who insists on gift cards, or cash, especially if they are pretending to be from the .gov should be suspect. They want a check. Their systems were designed in the 1970s, and updated in the 1990s. They don't know from Gift Cards.

As for who is most at risk, in general, to phone scams...

And despite the perception that seniors are more likely to be victimized, it was actually people ages 18 to 44 who fell prey most often.

Because the current generations of middle-class young people

1. Are too trusting for their own good,
2. Want to help everyone they can (see A), and
3. Have an undeserved faith in their own abilities (people have told them how great they are, their entire lives).

Then there is the fact that the quote, from David Mamet, in the image above, and in text below, is 100 percent true.

Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.