HONG KONG, China – There are two things that are sure to happen when the economy tanks.

One is the unraveling of financial scams, a la Bernie Madoff and the alleged wrongdoings of Texas billionaire Robert Allen Stanford. Ponzie schemes depend on a steady flow of cash - and new victims - to create the illusion of steady returns. When the economy turns down, the faucet runs dry and shenanigans come to light.

More worrying is the rise of crimes akin to this weekend’s headline in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper: “Conmen target HK’s richest in gold scam.” The story details how suspicious brokers are offering “enormous quantities of gold sourced from the Thai royalty” but first demanding access to bank accounts.

In a downturn, everyone - even the very wealthy - grow more susceptible to schemes that dangle gold and other quick riches. In this scheme, dubious brokers are using fake Web sites and emails that mimic reputable dealers to dupe victims.

Cyber crime is one industry that has skyrocketed since the economy has collapsed. As I wrote in a recent story, incidents of malicious software and Internet scams are fed by people’s need to believe schemes that seem too good to be true.

So we believe that Thai royalty is unloading cheap gold. We hand over bank details based on plaintive emails from Nigerian businessmen and the promise of big cash for a small upfront fee. We click through sites touting “earn thousands from home,” but the only thing we “earn” is spyware that we have unwittingly downloaded into our computer.

Criminals are betting on our suspension of disbelief. And they are banking on it, too.

BEIJING, China - I think I had a shared experience this week with millions of Chinese netizens who try to avoid, fool or stick it to Beijing's censors. It all centers on the "Grass Mud Horse."

So this is what happened. Chinese netizens as they're called here, have been speaking in code, and sticking it to censors by calling them a "Grass Mud Horse," because in Chinese when you say those words but slightly change the tone it actually is a profane insult involving something to your mother. Watch more about the 'Grass Mud Horse' phenomenon

And this is where the shared experience came in. I was trying to explain something, without saying what it was, because obviously those kinds of words are best left to a few standup comedians, or action films involving Bruce Willis.

To be honest, trying to say something while not saying it, while trying to not lose the meaning of what your not allowed to say is incredibly difficult, which may explain why the netizens here are so annoyed with the censors, even if the can't say it.