Member-only story
I’m a technical writer at a large internet company. I’ve been a technical writer for over 20 years and — while I’m not the larcenous type — I’ve never been put in a position where I could steal anything of value or otherwise indulge in a life of crime. It isn’t usually an exciting vocation, you may be surprised to learn.
But…but…like everyone else who is in front of a screen nowadays, I’ve gotten my fair share of phishing emails like this one:
Now, this is clearly a laughable attempt at a corporate email from a PayPal-class company. Of course, I’m going to click the “this is spam” button, have a little chuckle, and go on about my day. It’s also clear that I’m not the real target of this email.
These cretins are targeting the elderly and the vulnerable. For which they should burn in hell, no question.
But communication skills and professionalism have to be just as important in the criminal world as the real world, right? What if these people hired technical writers? What if these people applied themselves, to borrow a Walter White-icism? Got rid of the typos and spelling errors and other odd colloquialisms? I betcha they could make a lot…