TYSON: A veteran scam artist explains how he cons
The following is an excerpt from "Outsmarting the Scam Artists: How to Protect Yourself From the Most Clever Cons" by Doug Shadel, as told by "Jim," who was convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Shadel is a former fraud investigator for Washington state's attorney general's office. This provides excellent insights both into the mind of the con artists as well as the vulnerabilities that expose us to being ripped off.
"Swindling is really acting, and you play a character who will help you appear legitimate, confident and successful, even when you are not. The persona explains how a barrel of dented-can drug addicts can persuade successful businesspeople to write big checks without reading the paperwork. On the outside you will see nothing but charm, an engaging personality and swagger. On the inside lies a predator.
"The business needs to have a persona, too, to look legitimate and trustworthy. So we'd run television commercials and hire famous actors to appear in them. In that Internet-kiosk scam, we hired Adam West of the 1960s TV show 'Batman.' The first day we ran that ad, it generated more than 10,000 phone calls. I guess people see an Adam West or an Ernest Borgnine (we also hired him) on TV and assume the product he's selling is the real deal or he wouldn't be selling it. But the celebrity's contract frequently states that he or she cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the claims in the script. The celebrity probably doesn't know that people are getting ripped off; he may know nothing at all about the business.
"Those who believe they'd never fall for a scam don't realize it's not about how smart you are; it's about how well you control your emotions. scam victims are people with emotional needs, just like the rest of us. But they can't separate out those needs when they make financial decisions.
"As a master closer, I made it my first objective to get the victim 'under the ether.' Ether is that fuzzy state when your emotions are stirred up and you're so agitated that you won't know which way is up and which is down. Once I have gotten you into this condition, it doesn't matter how smart or dumb you are. Ether trumps intelligence every time.
"To find a client's emotional need, I'll ask a bunch of personal questions. Then I'll throttle up the pressure by focusing on that need. 'Oh, you lost your job? That's got to be tough.' Or 'So your two kids are in college, and the tuition is driving you into the poorhouse?' Now the person isn't thinking about whether the offer is a scam but instead, 'Here's a fix for my problems.' The 'crush,' or the 'kill' — that's what we call closing the deal — is emotionally driven. If you apply logic, the answer is: 'No, I am not going to send you my hard-earned money.' If my victims had applied logic to our deals, they would have walked away every time.
"My ma asked me once how her friends could avoid these scams. I told her two things. If someone is pitching a deal, ask yourself, 'What's in it for him?' A common ploy is to get you to take out a loan on your house, and then invest the proceeds in a long-term annuity or some other investment in which they make a huge commission. It may not be a fraud, but it may be a lot better deal for the salesman than for you. I also told Ma that when it comes to your house, never sign any paperwork until your attorney — someone you choose, not someone the salesman refers you to — reads the fine print."
How not to get burned
n "Never make a buying decision when you've just heard the sales pitch. Always give yourself at least 24 hours to think about it. This gives you time for the emotional effects of the sales presentation to subside — and time for you to do research.
n "Don't ever share personal information about your family or about your worries with people who are trying to sell you something.
n "In any interaction with someone trying to sell you a deal, always ask yourself, 'What's in it for them?' In other words, if this is such a great deal, why are they calling you about it? Why don't they just do it themselves?"
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