I want to know what would have happened if you had taken him up on his offer to keep his mac as collateral. Could it have been the launching point of a bigger scam?

Edited by author 11-23-2001 11:11 PM
I'm not sure where I picked up the "infosec guru" title, but I don't think it fits. Nontheless, no one finds it more ironic than I that I let this happen, at least to some extent.

Here is my lending rule. I don't expect to get the money back. When (if) I do it is a nice surprise. And i don't lend money that I can't afford to lose.

If you're Christian it's called grace, if you're Buddhist, it's karma---whatever, this guy will have to eat his evil deed in some way or other and your kindness will come back to you. Otoh, I would lend very few people so much as a sawbuck. I would lend a stranger nothing at all. But I've been around the block a few times and made my own mistakes when I was a kid.