OAP loses £16,000: It's hard to have sympathy

A story on the BBC yesterday pointed out how an OAP had fallen for an internet scam saying they were to inherit millions of pounds...but obviously they had to send some cash first. Whilst the story is meant to tug on the heart strings, as they talk about an 80 year-old widow, the story I am reading is someone who threw away their money due to greed. Whilst we don't know the full story, its hard to believe that a homeowner with £16,000 in the bank is so close to the poverty line that they saw the promises in these emails as the only way out. Greed didn't pay, boo-bloody-hoo.

My favourite part of the story was the fact that a police officer who advised "anyone who receives a scam e-mail to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111", somehow I think the Crimestoppers line would quickly crash if someone called for every scam email...it would probably also cost the economy millions of pounds.