6 ways fraudsters win your trust
Scammers have a huge array of methods for stealing money and personal data. But did you know that most rely on the same few basic psychological tricks?
In the 1980s, leading psychologist Robert Cialdini outlined a 'theory of influence' listing six common tactics used to persuade.
While commonly used by fraudsters, these tactics aren't exclusive to them. They can be used by anyone wishing to persuade you to do something.
Whether their use is ethical depends on whether the claims being made are true, showing the extreme importance of stepping away and doing your own checks.
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1. Reciprocity
Fraudsters want victims to feel a psychological need to 'repay' a favour from someone they feel has behaved selflessly or generously.
An investment scammer, for example, might claim to have done you a huge favour by bringing you an 'exclusive' money-making opportunity first.
In romance scams, the con artist will typically offer you affection and emotional support, priming you to feel indebted to them and eager to help when their financial sob story finally lands.
2. Consistency
Fraudsters play on our need to show others that our current behaviour is consistent with how we've behaved in the past. They can do so by making small requests at first, then escalating their demands.
If the victim habitually responds 'yes' to these smaller questions and requests – for example, by investing relatively small sums – they may then be reluctant to change tack by later refusing to commit larger sums.
This is typically seen in scams involving fake cryptocurrency exchanges, where victims are asked for a relatively modest initial deposit and are allowed to withdraw their 'earnings' in order to build trust, before being asked to pour in huge sums of cash.
- Read more: Crypto scams are on the rise
3. Social norms
Fraudsters take advantage of our tendency to believe something, or behave in a particular way, if other people appear to believe the same thing or behave in that way.
For example, many of us will rush to help people in distress, particularly our children, wider family and friends.
This social norm is cruelly abused by the 'Hi Mum and Dad' scam, in which con artists pretend to be someone's adult child in temporary financial difficulty, begging for money.
The technique is also at play when scammers advertise phoney fundraising accounts on social media for victims of wars or natural disasters.
4. Liking
Fraudsters know that we have a tendency to trust people who appear likeable and similar to ourselves.
They may claim to have common interests and go on a charm offensive, feigning interest in your life and flattering you.
5. Authority
People have a tendency to trust and comply with the requests of those perceived to be in a position of authority.
This is best illustrated by the abundance of scams in which criminals pose as a bank, HMRC or the police in order to steal our cash and personal data.
It's also exemplified in scams which try to gain credibility by using fake endorsements from respected celebrities such as Deborah Meaden and Martin Lewis.
- Find out: how to spot a scam
6. Scarcity
This is the tendency to believe that scarce goods, services and opportunities are better than those that aren't scarce.
In the case of scam shopping websites, a large hourglass or timer may be shown to indicate the deal is about to end, panicking you into making a purchase before you've done any due diligence.
An investment scammer may convince you that the 'opportunity' they offer is only available for a very short period or for a small number of people.
If you're being put under huge time pressure to part with your personal data or money, that's almost always a bad sign.
- Find out: how to spot a fake or fraudulent website
