How To Tell If You Are Being Scammed

In the world of business, there is one rule to live by if you want to avoid being scammed — when a deal is too good to be true, it is most likely a trick! There is a practice referred to as Social Engineering among scammers, security professionals, and those who work in customer service. It is the act of persuading and manipulating someone to divulge personal or sensitive information for fraudulent conduct, generally in person-to-person communication. It is very widely used, and is a common specialty to those who run pyramid schemes, create counterfeit currency, and even fake coupon users. If you are missing money or receiving emails from services that you never signed up for, this could be what happened to you.

Does it make sense?

When you need to determine if someone is telling you the truth or fabricating it, the first step is to ask yourself if it makes sense. For example, consider underage drinking in a college town. There is bound to be someone with a fake driver’s license, and there is definitely going to be cases where an individual over twenty-one attempts to buy alcohol for a teenager. Gas station clerks are among the many people who are legally allowed to sell alcohol and tobacco products, and it is up to them to avoid selling to minors or intoxicated individuals. They check for proof of age, usually with a valid driver’s license, and they use their common sense to determine if they should sell the products.
If someone comes to the register and pays for their groceries with a credit-card, then pays for alcohol using cash given to them by two nervous looking kids behind them, would it make sense to say that he is buying the alcohol for himself? No, they would not be allowed to make the sale. The same goes for those who use fake coupons. Imagine someone going to a mom-and-pop corner store, and using a coupon that says “$100 Off Any Amount of Soda,” written on a piece of loose leaf paper. They can deny taking the coupon because it seems so illegitimate!

There will always be someone trying to get one over on a business or individual, and it only takes a few moments to take a step back and think, does this make sense? Common sense is your best tool against scammers, and a lot can be learned from keeping things simple. Sometimes, scams can be very elaborate, complicated, and easy to believe. Remember, is it too good to be true?