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You
are here:
Fraud Secrets:
A Backstage Tour
You're in for a surprise.
How scammers chose their victims.
Why so few scammers go to jail
How con artists set up their victims:
The 10 steps con artists use to get your money.
What a con artist won't tell you: Questions you can ask a scammer that will make him run from you.
What a con artist will tell you
14 excuses a scammer will give you for not returning your money
The line between a scam and poor business ethics can be hard to determine.
WHY DO CON ARTISTS SCAM?
Behind the scammer's mask: Why con artists scam - it's not just the greed
An unusually sick group • Adrenaline rush • The danger of the missing gene
Con artists scam because it gives them infinite pleasure to "put one over" on anyone who stands still long enough. The compulsion to scam is so strong that a con artist will produce a scam even if he/she gains no money out of it. Con artists even scam each other!
An unusually sick group
Quoting a studies by Richard Blum (Deceivers and Deceived: Observations on Confidence Men and Their Victims, Informants and Their Quarry, Political and Industrial Spies and Ordinary Citizens), Chuck Whitlock points out that most con artists are:
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... impulsive, amoral, uncontrolled and detached from normal The essential feature of Antisocial Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others ... This pattern has also been referred to as psychopathy, sociopathy, or dissocial personality disorder... Individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder frequently lack empathy and tend to be callous, cynical, and contemptuous of the feelings, rights, and sufferings of others."
Chuck Whitlock, Chuck Whitlock's Scam School |
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© 1997, Alright, let's put that into ordinary words.
Adrenaline rush
The scammer is compulsive, exactly like a compulsive gambler or compulsive liar. It is interesting to note that although the scammer is a sharp-witted liar, his gambling skills are such that he usually loses his ill-gotten gains within hours of the take.
Swindlers irresistibly drawn to scam. It gives them an adrenaline rush when you are so enthralled with their made-up persona that you quite literally shove your money into their hands. The scam itself is an ego trip. While the swindler is stroking you with praises galore, you are actually praising his cleverness by believing everything he or she tells you. Oh joy in the morning!
The danger of the missing gene
There is no guilt associated with a scam, not even the slightest twinge. A con artist is quite simply missing that particular gene. The con artist has no inbred stops, no conscience. That's what it means to be a sociopath. If anything, the con feels justified in taking your money, "You deserved to be taken. You asked for it."
Why is this dangerous? Because it means that the con artist will pressure you to the end of your resources, regardless of the pain and grief it causes you. Neither children, nor the elderly, nor the fragile of health are immune from his attack. It does not matter to the con that he may be taking your last dime, nor does it matter to him that you may need the promised wealth to pay for a dire need. This criminal will take your money to the detriment of your health by selling fake cures and false hopes, even knowing that his scam may ultimately cause your death.
The swindler's attitude toward his victim is the same as any serial criminal.
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