From: NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com   
      
   How to stop friend from being scammed.   
      
   I hope you can help me.  My friend, the son of friends, is 38 and I've   
   known him since he was 2.  He's been giving money to scammers who found   
   him on Facebook.  He won't believe they are lying to him about the   
   Pakistani orphans.   
      
   Right now he's in a locked mental ward at a local hospital.  For the 3rd   
   or more time over 10 years, and told me to get his laptop and use   
   whatsapp for the PC to continue relations with his friends (that is, the   
   lying scammers). When he gets out, he will try to send them hundreds of   
   dollars from his Social Security Disability.   
      
   However this goes, it may well end up ruining my 35 year friendship with   
   him, even if I do no more than argue with him, but I want to do more and   
   also minimize the risk to our relationship.  (I have his parents' avid   
   encouragement.)   
      
   I welcome suggestions and I'm asking if my plan is reasonable:   
      
   I thought I could add a line to the HOSTS file which would stop Whatsapp   
   from working.  That is his main, hopefully his only way of communicating   
   with them. IIUC he would still have the chats that are there now, but he   
   wouldn't be able to send new messages, by wifi or any other way.   
      
        Would there be an error message that blamed the HOSTS file, or   
   would the user just be left confused? He probably has never heard of the   
   HOSTS file but if the error message mentions it, he'll figure it out and   
   undo it. He's smart (but gullible).   
        If he takes the computer to a repair shop**, will they likely find   
   the problem?   And pretty quickly?   Once someone tells him the HOSTS   
   file was edited, he'll know I was the one, and he may hate me forever. I   
   would miss him, but more importantly, he needs friends  He's turned   
   against anyone who argues with him about the scammers, except, so far,   
   his parents.     **He is scared to drive now and doesn't, but may be   
   able to find someone in walking distance, who works at home.  Might not   
   even charge him if it doesn't take a long time.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)