Another first/second thought

Since I’m doing first thought/second thought today…

Somebody posted that the internet makes fraud easier.

First thought: On average it’s not easier. A proper swindle starts with cultivation and ends with disappearance. The net makes disappearing super easy, but makes cultivating a lot harder. Persuasion, for an honest or dishonest purpose, works best face to face. The seller can quickly read the desires and responses of the prospect, and can adjust his appeal immediately. Analog feedback. On the web it’s nearly impossible to judge a reaction.

Second thought: Though each cultivation is harder, the web makes MASS PRODUCTION of cultivation vastly CHEAPER. That’s the whole point of the Sucker Filter. The persuader can send out billions of appeals with one click, carefully crafting the appeal to select only the likeliest suckers. It was always possible to do mass production with postal mail or phone banks, but those cost far more than email.