Tesla Spoof Email - Impressive Effort

[ACarneiro]

You’ll be fine. Send me all your money and I will ensure it is safe from scammers.

If you give me your bank account details and sign this Direct Debit mandate I’ll get right on it

 

[Billbrown1982]

Victim of 'Elon Musk' Bitcoin scam loses home deposit

Teacher Julie Bushnell says she lost her deposit for a new home in a cryptocurrency giveaway con.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sigh. Thieving scum.

 

[Dunstan]

Victim of 'Elon Musk' Bitcoin scam loses home deposit

Teacher Julie Bushnell says she lost her deposit for a new home in a cryptocurrency giveaway con.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sigh. Thieving scum.

Yes, but ... the art of the con involves targetting someone who thinks they'll get something for nothing. Applying the term "investor" to something doesn't change it's nature (though in some countries an investment in beer has a residual value when you take the empties back).

I wish the young lady well, it's a terrible way to learn an important lesson: if it looks too good to be true, it is.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Yes, but ... the art of the con involves targetting someone who thinks they'll get something for nothing. Applying the term "investor" to something doesn't change it's nature (though in some countries an investment in beer has a residual value when you take the empties back).

I wish the young lady well, it's a terrible way to learn an important lesson: if it looks too good to be true, it is.

Yeah couldn't agree more. A fool and their money, etc etc.

Don't like to pile on the girl after what she's lost, but yeah - spot on.

 

[Peter 224]

Can anyone explain to this old dinosaur what "Bitcoins" really are and why they have "value"?

 

[Bill Price]

I had a guy call from my bank’s fraud dept. Sounded wholly professional, incredibly helpful and reassuring.
the info he had and wanted didn’t smell quite right so I ended the call. It was a close call though.
My bank’s proper fraud department to whom I reported the call, couldn’t have been less professional or unhelpful.
no harm done anyway.
Moral of the story; if they seem really on the ball, they’re probably scammers!

When someone calls you from your bank, from your health provider. from ebay, from where ever, don't provide any information to them. Instead, get their name and tell them you'll call them back. Hang up and find the number of your bank, health provider or whatever and ask to speak to THAT person.

 

[Dunstan]

Can anyone explain to this old dinosaur what "Bitcoins" really are and why they have "value"?

The short answer is that they're tokens, represented in a distributed ledger. They have value solely because of their scarcity.

The longer answer is that the mathematics behind this ledger (blockchain) is much more interesting than the ability to buy and sell tokens with real money. The oldest of the blockchains is Bitcoin, it's been running for around 15 years and has the highest scarcity value. It has zero intrinsic value, it has just risen in scarcity as more people have learned of its existence and joined in - as a sort of pyramid scheme..

 

[ACarneiro]

The short answer is that they're tokens, represented in a distributed ledger. They have value solely because of their scarcity.

The longer answer is that the mathematics behind this ledger (blockchain) is much more interesting than the ability to buy and sell tokens with real money. The oldest of the blockchains is Bitcoin, it's been running for around 15 years and has the highest scarcity value. It has zero intrinsic value, it has just risen in scarcity as more people have learned of its existence and joined in - as a sort of pyramid scheme..

TBF, "value" is an interesting one. The notes you have in your wallet also have no intrinsic value, only the promise that you'll be able to get stuff in return for handing them over.
In that regard crypto is no different.
Same goes for gold and diamonds (although they are physical and look pretty), but most of their value derives from convention and scarcity.
I think it would be overly simplistic to just outright label crypto currency as a "pyramid scheme". The future is far from certain for the tech, but it could turn out to be something rather significant.

 

[Peter 224]

I understand the Blockchain concept, but what I cannot do is make the connection between a blockchain token and Bitcoin Mining. The tokens are rare, so how are they "found"? I read that Bitcoin mining used masses of computer power: doing what, exactly? If one had access to the latest generation of super computer could one find more tokens quickly?