Scam Alert: Your Emotions Can Betray You.

Usually, a scam alert headline involves a time of season (tax time, holidays) when scams increase or a particular new scam approaches, like AI voice impersonations and family emergency scams. This scam alert, however, is neither of those…but it is just as important. More than just an alert, it is also an important reminder, one that almost every scam consultant guest on the Easy Prey podcast has given. It’s this: Anyone can get scammed. Or as Alan Castel said, a guest on the Easy Prey podcast in May 2024, “there is a scam out there for everyone.” As Castel explained to Chris Parker, host of the Easy Prey podcast, no one is immune to being fooled by a con artist. Scams don’t discriminate by education, age, income level, relationship status, corporate title or occupation. Anyone, under the right circumstances, can become a victim of a scam. Why? Because we are human, not machines, and we all have human needs, instincts, desires and a long list of emotions that can betray us. All it takes is for everything to fall into place a certain way. These days, it takes all types of forms, from simple to very sophisticated. While the public may have gotten smarter about not falling for more obvious schemes, scammers have improved their game too. In other words, becoming a victim these days often is not about getting rich quick, getting an unbelievable price of a desired item, or finding the love of your life. It can simply start with a phone call, text or email that seems part of an otherwise regular day. So, instead of using an element of fear or the promise of riches, scammers are using sophisticated, well-thought-out and effective psychological approaches and strategies to motivate people into doing what the scammer wants them to do, and what the victims think they need (or even want) to do. In effect, our everyday, well-intentioned feelings or emotions can betray us. Let’s take a look at the emotions or situational feelings we can have at any one time and see how the right scam will take advantage of the moment: You’ll see that someone doesn’t necessarily need to be in an agitated state of mind to make the wrong decision. Not at all. So, let’s propose some normal, everyday situations that even you might find yourself in one day, and match them with a scam that might sneak through your defense when you let your guard down: As many cybersecurity experts have explained on the Easy Prey podcast, most people get scammed simply because they’re human. Typically what puts us in a more susceptible mode is the nature our emotions or something that touches them. Scammers use all types of schemes to trigger and manipulate our emotions for their gain and your loss. We covered this topic in the blog at EasyPrey.com. It’s titled “ What Does it Mean to be Easy Prey for a Scam?” The blog/article includes a special infographic that visually conveys the idea of how our good intentions can betray us. To gain more insights and perspectives from the experts, follow the Easy Prey podcast, hosted by Chris Parker, CEO of WhatIsMyIPAddress.com. You’ll find it on your favorite podcast platform. You can also find every episode and search by subject at EasyPrey.com.