Crooks, Conmen and Fraudsters – How To Get Rid of A Con Artist

Persuasion and manipulation have been used for and against us since the beginning of time. We too have been masters in manipulation. Ever since we cried and cried as small children because we couldn’t get our own way, we manipulated people then and we still do it today, perhaps not with crying but we do it anyway.

However, some people manipulate and persuade for a living, not just as in everyday sales, but more as a way of conning you and I out of our hard earned cash.

So why exactly do we get conned, swindled and ripped off in the first place? That’s a good question and It boils down to a basic few things that the fraudsters love to pray on.

Greed, Fear & Hope..

Greed. Conmen love to feed a person’s greed. Greedy people are always alert to make money for nothing schemes. Conmen want you to think you are on to a good thing and in return for your hard-earned cash and promises of something for nothing, they will give you nothing for something.

You, the unsuspecting person who is about to be conned is known as “The Mark” And it usually starts with the conman taking a small sum of money from you and the conman showing you a profit of some sort, so you have the confidence (remember con is all about making you more confident in them) to invest more..

Once you’ve invested more, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see that money again.

How To Get Rid of A Con Artist

The way to get rid of any con artist is to simply don’t begin playing their game. Con artists even have their own game name for it, the long game and the short game.

There are basically two types of con, the short and the long con. The short con is a very short term way of relieving you of your money. This could be a bar bet, a three-card trick or someone flat out asking you for a £1 or $1 for bus fare or money for petrol as their car has mysteriously run out of petrol and is dangerously parked on the motorway.

The long con is a longer thought out strategy, possibly involving several players. This could be played against you over many weeks or months. A Dating con would come under this category, where a stranger contacts you through a dating site, builds up a relationship with you only to manipulate you into sending them money.

Greed, Fear, and Hope are very powerful emotions, they can easily trip you up into making poor decisions and there are plenty of people looking to exploit those emotions.

Fear. Fear of loss. When someone phones you up posing as a security officer from your bank, you pay attention. The person tells you that your account has been compromised and he tells you that you need to transfer your funds to a new bank account.

The man sounds very pleasant and very helpful. He gives you your new account number and the sort code of your account to transfer your funds. You go online to your bank account and you transfer the funds immediately.

The man puts down the phone. And you have just transferred all your funds to the conman’s account. Sad, but true. People are doing this every day.

Hope. Conmen (and Women) pray on this key factor. Many people are living desperate lives. People long to be loved and recognized for the wonderful people they are. The fraudsters know this. There are many dating scams out there where people try to hook up with you, form relationships with you then ask for money for false health operations or dying relatives etc.

Crooks Conmen And Fraudsters – How To Stop The Ripoff

Banking Scams. The first thing to remember with these is that Banks will not phone you directly and ask you for your banking details. If ever someone phones you up pretending to be from your bank, simply tell the person that you will go down to your local branch to sort it out.

Always go to the source of any Banking scam, contact your branch directly, never though a link. Whether it’s a phishing email or a phone call. Just because you get an email that looks like it came from your bank or Paypal doesn’t mean it has.

Some crooks use very sophisticated software to make you think it’s your bank emailing you. The sign-in page may look real, but no real bank will ever send you a sign-in page by email or ever tell you to release your sign-in details over the phone.

Dating Scams. No one in their right mind would ask you for money if they’ve only met you or have spoken to you over the Internet in the last few days or weeks. The best way to never get ripped off in a dating scam is to:

A) If you are going to meet this person, do so in a public place, like a coffee shop. Never invite them to your house, especially on the first meeting or so.

B) Never reveal your financial status to this person.

C) If they are looking for money, don’t ever lend it to them, it will probably be the last you see of it. In fact, if you give them something, they’ll probably try to get even more out of you.

Telephone Scams. Common telephone scams are recorded messages telling you your Amazon Prime payment has gone through, people pretending to be from Microsoft, people pretending to be from your Internal Revenue Service, people pretending to be from solicitors about a traffic accident you were meant to be involved in..

All, total BS. Don’t fall for it, put the phone down. These people are only after your money. They are playing on your fears. Don’t send them money, don’t pay them money over the phone, and NEVER, ever give them your financial details or passwords.

Well, that’s about it for now.

Stay Alert. If it/they sound too good to be true, it probably is.. and if you are stuck in someone’s web of lies, you’re in too deep and you find you can’t escape – call the Police. 

If you got value from this post, please do share it, it may just help someone you know from getting scammed. Please also do leave a comment below. Tell me about any scams that you may have heard about or have been a victim of.

All the best

Keith

P.S People who liked this post, also liked this one – How To Tell When Someone Is Lying To You

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