From our Chapter President...

April 2010
 

I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend getaway with my wife in the city of New Orleans. Fresh out of high school in 1976, and over the next 10 years, I worked on the paddle-wheel powered over night excursion steamboats, the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen. The boats spent the majority of the year on the southern river and I became very familiar with and fond of that city that goes by many names. (I.e. Big Easy, Crescent City, City that Care Forgot)

The French Quarter of the city has always been a stage for street hustlers, rip-off artists and other shady characters. And as such, there are two classic hustles that occur regularly on Bourbon Street.

The first goes something like this. A guy walks up to you and says, “I bet you $5 I can tell you where you got those shoes.” You think, there is no way this guy knows where I bought these shoes. So, you take the bet. The guy proceeds to tell you, “You got those shoes on your feet right here on Bourbon Street! I didn’t say where you purchased or where you bought those shoes. I said where you “got” those shoes! And you “got” those shoes right here on your feet…now give me the $5 you owe me!”

The other goes like this. The same guy says, “I bet I can tell you how many letters are in your last name.” Again, there’s no way this guy knows your last name, so you take the bet. He then explains there are 12 letters in the words “your last name” and demands the money from the wager. I’m sure many fisticuffs arose out of such events.

These two classic hustles show how assumptions, interpretation, intentional vagueness and plausible deniability can be tools in the effort of deceit.

Now, thirty-some years later, as a Certified Information Systems Auditor and much wiser than my days of youthful indiscretion, I have a more street-wise perspective.

My most recent visit to New Orleans found me face-to-face with what I suspected was another classic scam.

Strolling down Bourbon Street in the early afternoon, I began a conversation with a couple who were selling tours from the doorway of the Chris Owens Club. Having seen Chris Own perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival a few months earlier, I was curious if they know Chris and more specifically, if they knew her age. I know it’s not polite to ask a woman’s age, but if you know anything about the lady, at 75 years old, the burlesque performer still has the talent, energy and stage presence to merit being in the business.

The couple selling tours claimed to know Chris. Over a half hour period, they shared a wealth of knowledge about Chris and the Vieux Carré. I thanked them for the information, and as we were walking away, the man said to his wife, “Why don’t we offer them tickets to tomorrow’s event.” By attending the one hour presentation, they explained, we would be given a $100 Visa debit card. After accepting the offer and giving them my name and address, the man then said, “There is a $20 charge which will be returned to you tomorrow when you show-up at the presentation.”

So here’s the challenge, do I trust this Bourbon Street offer in a city known to hustle tourists and risk $20 for the potential of get $120 back. As in our world of information systems audit, the decision boiled down to trust and risk. In this case, the couple validly earned my trust by establishing a relationship independent of what they were selling. I had a high level of assurance they were legitimate and they would be at the same location tomorrow if the offer proved bogus. As for the risk, in the worst case scenario I would be $20 poorer and have a story to tell of how I got duped.

As it turned out, my wife and I enjoyed a nice Cajun dinner on the money we received through this process.

Just as our professional logo states, “Trust in, and value from, information systems”, we face similar trust and risk challenges in our everyday lives. It’s difficult to truly get away from our professional jobs and in many cases the skills come in handy in non-work situations.

I look forward to seeing you at our April 8th meeting.

Thanks,
Brian O’Brien, CISA
President, ISACA Central Ohio Chapter.