Sinful or not it would be a waste of time. Malagrinn743 had a nasty accident with a coffee maker and some elastic bands. Oh yes, and the Big Stick of Banishment that we keep in the administrative closet....
I do sometimes engage in phone conversations with scammers. "Really, my computer called me and you want me to download some sketchy software to fix it? You fascinate me! Tell me more..."
I haven't had one of those for ages but I'd often see how long I could keep them on the phone. My record was 35 minutes. Often my wife would have to leave the room because she was laughing so hard. Usually I'd make out like I was expecting the call and how my computer had been acting up. One guy called me when I was feeling particularly mischievous so I told him I'd downloaded several gigabytes of hardcore porn and my computer hadn't been the same since, and wondered if the two were related. He could hardly believe his luck, but nearly half an hour later he figured I'd been stringing him along the whole time. Playing the role of someone who knows nothing about computers seemed to be a good way to get them to push further, and of course not understanding their instructions kept them on the line a while longer.
I had a membership request from Nude Celebrities. Needless to say I denied the request. BTW, that was the 2nd request from someone with an address from mrskin. The first request didn't get through either.
One my of my favorite moments was when the caller figured I was stringing him along and got a bit short with me, and I still managed to waste more of his time. I went through the motions of pointing out that he had called me and if I knew anything about the computer I wouldn't need his help, then let him notionally calm me down so we could continue. Then after another 10 minutes or so he finally realised that I had in fact been stringing him along the entire time. I always liked that approach because it meant that when they did come across someone who truly knew nothing about computers they'd always be wondering whether they had a sucker on the line or whether they were being played again. ETA: One of my enduring regrets is that I never taped the conversations to make transcripts available. It seems a few people would have liked to read them.
I can confirm that at this precise moment I am not nude, celebrity or otherwise. I usually wear fewer clothes when doing things like showering. Whether I'd count as a celebrity would still be open to debate. I also suspect that references to nude celebrities typically refers to those of a more female persuasion.
LOL. A job friend of mine's mother was the subject of a scam call. The caller repeatedly asked for her bank account information, and she kept telling him she didn't know it because she didn't do her own banking. The scammer got exasperated and finally asked her, "Well, who does do your banking?!" and she answered, "My son. He's an NYPD detective." The caller got very quiet and then said "I'm sorry, I was trying to scam you" and hung up.
Perhaps when it becomes impossible to determine whether you're talking to a real person who is who they say they are, a real person who is scamming you, or a deepfake robot with a convincing voice who may or may not be trying to scam you, we can get away from depersonalising everything and go back to the old-fashioned way of doing it where people knew people. Although maybe by then we'll also have robots who look like humans so even when you're talking to a bank teller who you've known for years it will still turn out to be a robot.
I occasionally get the cold calls from the boiler rooms of guys trying to sell "investments" in oil and gas, gold mines, etc. Last guy had a minimum of $100,000 "investment." I asked him if he took cash. I told him I didn't trust banks and kept all my money in cash in various secret locations. I arranged to meet him at a local park at 5:14 pm. I hope he made it.
I wish I had just a little more financial stability and I'd take you up on it. I have a good friend that is now the CIO/private placement guy for an outfit in Utah/Nevada that has purchased some old mines that were very prolific back in the 1910's, but then had water issues and the technology just wasn't there to make them financially viable. They now have been reworking, pumping water, testing old shafts, and have mountains of ore that start to the smelter in September that are very high per ton, and the technology has changed so much that they will likely be able to produce at far less than $600 an ounce finished product. He's always wanted me "in on the deal," but I'm just not where I can take that kind of a flier.
Good that they can make it work. Old sites can be tricky because you inherit all the liability of the environmental cleanup.
Yep. For "some reason" with old gold mines, there always seems to be an awful lot of cyanide and mercury hanging around...
Interesting that my old, dilapitated town, Walkerville, Mt., might very well see a ressurrection of underground mining, paticulary silver, the boon that founded the settlement in the 1800s. Exploratory drills going in with a substantial investment in local services. Among other minerals, silver was very lucrative. Environmental concerns could be tricky but by most accounts thus is a positive development. We all know it's there, per old accounting.