As of this writing, it has been a year already since the world has dealt with the world crisis called COVID-19 Pandemic. In The US alone, there has been a reported figure of 30 million people who lost their jobs due to the COVID scare.
Because of people’s needs to attain some income while just staying within the confines of their own homes, online scammers are also making themselves busy as they exploit people’s desires and vulnerability. They are also utilizing the work from home setting to scam people’s money as well.
Pyramiding organizers, Ponzi scheme orchestrators, and scammers of all kinds are preying upon people who want to make money fast. Inasmuch as no thief would ever announce himself into the world, no scammer would ever claim of being one.
In fact, they would do their very best and would appear to be the most unusual suspect ever. Why so many scammers became very successful at taking away people’s money is due to the fact that they can showcase themselves as the most unlikely culprit.
Let’s delve into the question of why people are still lured into negotiating with scammers.
They have the appearance of a legitimate businessman
Whenever you attend a business seminar or webinar of any kind, you can surely see one common sight: lecturers wearing suits and apparel that make them look very “respectable.” They would appear in expensive, impeccable suits, designer shoes, expensive jewelry, and other apparel that would make them look very rich.
Of course, this is just a very common thing for any businessman to do. How would he appear respectable if he doesn’t put on the typical “money-making getup?” With the right coat, the right undershirt, and some other accessories to boot, these scammers or fake gurus can really appear like a “walking bag of money” so to speak.
Add it up with the right hand gestures and body language, they can really sell themselves out so well, that you wouldn’t even notice that the selling act has already started the moment you clicked on their ads, or on the web links, they have made.
Aside from dressing the part, they have also an array of material possessions that they can brag and boast about. Sure, they have also accumulated attractive stuff at their disposal like cars, houses, expensive collectible items, and clothing.
They sure have gathered up such things to really prove to the world how successful they are. But if you’re going to look into how they got such things, it is because they have scammed and deceived lots of people in the past already.
Scammers today don’t look like any common scammer at all, it’s the reason why they are so effective in doing what they do: robbing people of their finances openly in broad daylight.
They have excellent marketing skills
Aside from appearing legit, they have also mastered how to sound legit too. They are so good at talking like a professional that upon the moment they opened their mouths, their mesmerizing powers are already at play. They know their deception scripts so well that it’s already second nature to them.
When they talk about their success, about their earnings, and about how you can become exactly like them, their statements are so convincing that they could sound as if they could raise the dead. It’s a metaphor of course, but one that can really be attributed to their clever convincing tactics.
Because of their experiences in marketing, or due to the teachings of the scammers that came before them, they have already memorized the first sentences to say, the first set of statements to answer your initial responses, and how to carry out through the entire conversation.
They will often begin by giving away questions like: “Are you tired of seeing all your friends getting away on vacations to places you’ve always dreamed of going?” or “Have you ever wondered if there’s a quick and easy way to have the car you always wanted?”
Then the next set of statements would be, “Make sure to watch through the end of this video and I’ll show you the best-proven tactics to attain what you truly wish for!” Though such statements are already too much of a cliché for those who were already scammed many times over. Such enticing words will still fool the uninitiated.
To make their selling acts even more convincing, they would even offer you good kinds of stuff like “free training”, “free webinar”, “free ebook”, “free app”, or anything that can be attributed to the word “free.” Yes, those are in fact very nice things to have. But once you grab those free stuff they’re giving away, you have just fallen into the traps they have laid out for you.
It will only be a matter of time before you realized you are already buying, subscribing, or renting those expensive products that they’re selling. And if you really think it through, you will also realize that you don’t really need those products after all.
They are very good at manipulating human emotions
Whenever products of all kinds are sold in the market, it’s mainly about consumption or attraction. What you might not notice is there are subliminal messages given as well. You may not find it too obvious, but emotions are also being poked into and played with as well. For instance, think about the scenarios that you might have seen in car magazines or live car shows.
If you’ve seen such events, then you would have surely noticed this very common element in them: the appearance of sexy women in swimsuits, even though the absence of a swimming pool nearby is very much evident. What are those eye-catching women doing in the hoods of those cars? you may ask.
The answer – they are there to take away the money of those rich onlookers in the fastest and most captivating way possible. Simply stated, those attractive women are nothing but marketing tools. They have nothing to do with the car at all, but they are there to make the car way more attractive.
With compelling music in the background, they might also tell heartwarming stories about their past, about how much of a loser they’ve been, about how they’ve been bullied during childhood. And just as you are about to cry, they will then lure you even more into getting hooked by their sales pitch.
While not all scammers appear to us as car salespersons, they sure are excellent actors. They are excellent at sugarcoating, exaggerating, and over-hyping whatever it is that they’re selling, just so they can entice us into paying more than we really should.
They have mastered the power of suggestion
Have you heard about the likes of Harry Houdini, Criss Angel, and David Blaine? If you haven’t, let us summarize their professions as magicians and illusionists. Do you want to know why they are so good at making people believe that they have supernatural powers? It’s because they have mastered one skill that can mesmerize us every time: the power of suggestion.
This skill can really make wonders. Whenever magicians like those 3 speak their “magic words” like “picture in your mind this object…” or “I want you to relax, I will try to probe into your mind to find out what you’re thinking…” – the list could go on and on.
To cut the events short, the magician or the illusionist really did guess what you’re thinking, or what the human subject was thinking. But if we are really going to delve into it, what the magician is doing was just plain, basic psychology.
And in cases where the act really appears supernatural, it can be proven that the magician and the human subject are actually conniving buddies. It is common knowledge that no magic trick is ever effective without the presence of accomplices.
How is that relevant to scamming? It is very relevant, matter of factly. Why? Because scammers use the power of suggestion in their business dealings. They are so good at luring you into trying their methods out that they can even successfully make you think that the whole thing was your idea when in fact, it was really theirs in the first place.
As stated above, most people today are desperate. Many of us want to remain productive in the midst of this pandemic. We don’t want to lose our money-making activities. And when there are promising opportunities, we will grab them without any second thoughts.
Scammers know this, and have already situated themselves many steps ahead of you. You need to be watchful… you need to be very vigilant.
Good analysis 👌