I can't believe so many people are so stupid
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A poll on the BBC News site today:
Have you ever been the victim of a phishing scam?
Yes
10.78%
No
89.22%
4933 Votes Cast
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinionAlmost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid! If I get a message saying I have to contact my bank or verify details I always ensure that I am dealing with my bank by phoning the number on the back of my credit card, or on my bank statements or just walking into a branch.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
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A poll on the BBC News site today:
Have you ever been the victim of a phishing scam?
Yes
10.78%
No
89.22%
4933 Votes Cast
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinionAlmost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid! If I get a message saying I have to contact my bank or verify details I always ensure that I am dealing with my bank by phoning the number on the back of my credit card, or on my bank statements or just walking into a branch.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
50% of people are below average. Considering most good developers are 88% and higher that means 88% of the world would not be as bright as a programmer. Then, if we postulate, that if you are 15% smarter than someone you can hoodwink them it becomes obvious that 15% of the population can manipulate 65% of it. BTW, I used to memorize credit card numbers as a party trick. And yes, even after telling people what I was doing, the would hold up the card for me to memorize.
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
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50% of people are below average. Considering most good developers are 88% and higher that means 88% of the world would not be as bright as a programmer. Then, if we postulate, that if you are 15% smarter than someone you can hoodwink them it becomes obvious that 15% of the population can manipulate 65% of it. BTW, I used to memorize credit card numbers as a party trick. And yes, even after telling people what I was doing, the would hold up the card for me to memorize.
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
Heh Ennis... that isn't much of a party trick. Sixteen lousy digits! LOL When I was at Uni I got interested in one of the memory books and memorized a 100 digit number... now THAT was a good party trick. Now that I think of it... I could have made it a lot easier on myself and just memorized the names of say fifteen people in a row, whose phone number I knew, and it probably would have worked just as well. Chadlling
-
A poll on the BBC News site today:
Have you ever been the victim of a phishing scam?
Yes
10.78%
No
89.22%
4933 Votes Cast
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinionAlmost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid! If I get a message saying I have to contact my bank or verify details I always ensure that I am dealing with my bank by phoning the number on the back of my credit card, or on my bank statements or just walking into a branch.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
Are people stupid!
Only two things are infinite... the universe and human stupidity... and we're not sure about the universe. Programming idiot-proof software is a competition between programmers writing "better" software, and the universe making "better" idiots. Addendum: The universe is always winning.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Heh Ennis... that isn't much of a party trick. Sixteen lousy digits! LOL When I was at Uni I got interested in one of the memory books and memorized a 100 digit number... now THAT was a good party trick. Now that I think of it... I could have made it a lot easier on myself and just memorized the names of say fifteen people in a row, whose phone number I knew, and it probably would have worked just as well. Chadlling
Chadlling wrote:
that isn't much of a party trick. Sixteen lousy digits!
I don't think that was as much his comment as... when he makes the claim to memorize credit card numbers, people willingly offer their numbers to see if he can rather than hiding them behind lead lined wallets. :)
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Chadlling wrote:
that isn't much of a party trick. Sixteen lousy digits!
I don't think that was as much his comment as... when he makes the claim to memorize credit card numbers, people willingly offer their numbers to see if he can rather than hiding them behind lead lined wallets. :)
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
Jeffrey, Yes, yes... I think you are right. Ennis wasn't bragging up his party trick. But I was just commenting that 16 digits doesn't seem like that great of a memory trick to begin with. Or did I completely miss it... and the whole party trick was to get people to be gullible enough to get their credit card out in the first place?? Now you've got me thinking!!!
-
A poll on the BBC News site today:
Have you ever been the victim of a phishing scam?
Yes
10.78%
No
89.22%
4933 Votes Cast
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinionAlmost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid! If I get a message saying I have to contact my bank or verify details I always ensure that I am dealing with my bank by phoning the number on the back of my credit card, or on my bank statements or just walking into a branch.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
Almost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid!
Erm, no insult intended, but are you so stupid as to believe a BBC survey (or whoever conducted it?) I mean, come on, if asked verbally, many of the respondants probably answered yes because they thought they were scammed when they were told the cost of swordfish. ;P [edit]Actually, verbally or not, 10% of people probably can't even spell the word "fish"[/edit]. [edit #2]Actually, the percentage is probably a lot higher, people are just ashamed to admit it[/edit #2] [edit #3]And yes, people are stupid. Are you surprised? Where've you been??? :rolleyes: [/edit #3] Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith -
50% of people are below average. Considering most good developers are 88% and higher that means 88% of the world would not be as bright as a programmer. Then, if we postulate, that if you are 15% smarter than someone you can hoodwink them it becomes obvious that 15% of the population can manipulate 65% of it. BTW, I used to memorize credit card numbers as a party trick. And yes, even after telling people what I was doing, the would hold up the card for me to memorize.
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
50% of people are below average
[nitpick] Not necessarily. That's not what average means. [/nitpick]
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Jeffrey, Yes, yes... I think you are right. Ennis wasn't bragging up his party trick. But I was just commenting that 16 digits doesn't seem like that great of a memory trick to begin with. Or did I completely miss it... and the whole party trick was to get people to be gullible enough to get their credit card out in the first place?? Now you've got me thinking!!!
Both, one they show the number, two the number is written on the back of the card (or imprinted) all you really have to do is be able to read in reverse as the dupe will most likely watch the card as you are reciting, holding the back towards you.
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
50% of people are below average
[nitpick] Not necessarily. That's not what average means. [/nitpick]
Ok, 50th percentile, happy :)
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
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It's more ignorance than stupidity. My uncle who barely knows how to check mail and browse to a website, may trust anything he gets as email - and if it looks official enough - with the bank's logo and all that, he may fall for it.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blogI agree with Nish on this one. Most of us who spent a few hours in front of the PC each day would be cautious enough not to fall for this.
"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." - Thomas Jefferson "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin Edbert Sydney, Australia
-
A poll on the BBC News site today:
Have you ever been the victim of a phishing scam?
Yes
10.78%
No
89.22%
4933 Votes Cast
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinionAlmost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid! If I get a message saying I have to contact my bank or verify details I always ensure that I am dealing with my bank by phoning the number on the back of my credit card, or on my bank statements or just walking into a branch.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
When I worked at Citibank I actually got a phishing Citibank email. When I was in their customer service we got LOTS of calls from people asking if emails were legit. (I probably got 2 a day.) I just saw a thing on the news where the scammers are now inserting the user's name and more detailed info making it look more official. No matter how many times a company says "we will never have you verify info by email" people always seem to think the rules have changed and go ahead. Or have short term memory loss.
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
Almost 500 people have been a victim of a phishing scam! Are people stupid!
Erm, no insult intended, but are you so stupid as to believe a BBC survey (or whoever conducted it?) I mean, come on, if asked verbally, many of the respondants probably answered yes because they thought they were scammed when they were told the cost of swordfish. ;P [edit]Actually, verbally or not, 10% of people probably can't even spell the word "fish"[/edit]. [edit #2]Actually, the percentage is probably a lot higher, people are just ashamed to admit it[/edit #2] [edit #3]And yes, people are stupid. Are you surprised? Where've you been??? :rolleyes: [/edit #3] Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithMarc Clifton wrote:
Erm, no insult intended, but are you so stupid as to believe a BBC survey
No. I don't believe the survey is accurate. But it is vaguely idicative of something. But you could be right - perhaps it was all to do with swordfish.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog