We all like to think we are smart, independent, in full control of our lives, and there is no way any of us would fall for a financial scam, like those lonely old seniors do, because “that happens to them, not to me, because I am smart.”
But the truth is, even smart people fall for it, people with master degrees, people who work in academia, people running large business… Even I could fall for this.
And how did you learn to recognize it?
I’ve had a number of people in my life fall for scams. Its all about people exploiting trust. Victims trusted that what they were saying was true, they didn’t question what was happening enough, and their tactics are designed to stress you out so that you don’t question when they offer you a quick solution.
I believe that everyone needs to be exposed to this betrayal in some way to learn to recognize it. The mechanic that charges you too much for a repair, the person in a game that scams you out of items, the phishing email that needs you to buy gift cards.
Talk about scams with others, learn from the stories you hear, and be skeptical when someone presents both the problem and solution.