Those who have an out-of-control greed gene have been known to concoct all kinds of tales of woe to con cash out of the unwary.
There is that unfortunate Nigerian prince who is stranded in his native land with no way to get out with the millions of dollars he has stashed. Perhaps if you would be so kind as to send him all your banking information including PIN numbers and let him park the millions in your bank account... On the other end of the scale is the pitiful homeless guy who sits in the doorway holding a white cane in one hand and a cup for coins in the other, the Financial Post carefully hidden in the sleeve of his grubby overcoat. Somewhere in the middle are the nefarious individuals who telephone or email elderly people claiming to be a grandchild who is in some sort of trouble and in desperate need of cash.
In a category all their own are the lowlifes who collect on behalf of a charity and pocket the cash. Some go so far as to set up a fake foundation, supposedly to raise funds for research and treatment of some disease, when in fact the cash ends up in the con artist’s personal account.
The most recent example is a young Burlington woman accused of faking cancer in an effort to get attention and money. Ashley Anne Kirilow is alleged to have shaved her head and starved herself to look like someone undergoing chemotherapy. She may not have perpetrated her scam with the panache of the likes of George C. Parker, the man who sold the Brooklyn Bridge twice weekly for years, but like him and other notorious con artists, the crime of which she is accused shows a characteristic selfishness and lack of conscience.
Hollywood has often portrayed con men as charming scoundrels with hearts of gold. In real life, con artists can be extremely charming. They can be anything they need to be to get their victims to let down their guard and hand over the money. Jackals rather than lions, they prefer easy prey – the elderly, the grief-stricken, the naïve, the vulnerable. One can hope Hollywood does not find the story of the fake cancer patient sufficiently interesting to use it as a plot for a movie. Cancer is not fodder for light entertainment. It takes a tragic toll on people from all walks of life, rich and poor, young and old.
Research has provided new medications and surgical techniques. Cancers are being discovered earlier and at a more treatable stage. We have reason to hope a cure will be found, but we cannot afford to lose a single dollar to a fake foundation or con artist.
We owe it to ourselves, our families and the many people who suffer from cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer disease or any other condition for which there is a charitable foundation, to use our heads as well as our hearts when we donate. Make a call, check identification, do a bit of research. Make sure our donations go where we need them to.
– Wingham Advance Times
