After reading the recent article in the Saanich News Suspicious offer triggers police warning, it would seem the motto "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" needs to be revamped by removing the word “probably.”
Since "probably” means likely (but not absolutely), "probably" allows wiggle room which weakens the impact of the message's warning. As a result, the motto can too easily be misinterpreted as “the wonderful sounding offer is not likely a good deal, but there is still a chance it might be.”
A more effective motto would be "if it sounds too good to be true, assume that it is."
Darryl Green
Saanich
