Scam Tactics: How Do Scammers Identify What You Need?

How does a conman pick up on what does the victim needs, and thus, tailor the scam to fit?  There are five different techniques. If you are aware of these techniques, then you can watch out for when they are used on you.  Let MLMSkeptic explain the five techniques.

The techniques are:

1) Pre-screening

2) Probing questions

3) The tease

4) The Please

5) Trial Close / Seize


Pre-Screening

Your identity is known on the internet. Somebody out there has a profile on you, more than one if you have used multiple names and/or multiple identities. Credit agencies definitely have one on you (and there are several of them). If you're a professional you have professional profiles somewhere. And those can be accessed. That's just your public profile.

Then there's your "hidden profile". Your behavior online is part of your profile. If you give out your name and email address at capture pages that goes into a profile somewhere, and shady businesses will share that info (even if they promise never to do so) with other shady businesses and that's a part of your profile.

If you ever applied for a loan you will get solicitations for loan offers for MONTHS. They shared your info. And they're legit. Imagine what the ILLEGITIMATE scammers and conman will do...

If you ever asked for more info on suspicious "make money fast" type schemes, or clicked on teaser videos that says "sign up for my ____ for more info" and entered your email for "more info", your name is now on a "sucker list" to be marketed with more **** in a similar genre, because you have shown a preference for such topics. 

Scammers (and legitimate salespeople) pay $$$ to buy leads that may be interested in such things, and the lead list is pre-screened for people who are at least interested to whatever s/he's trying to sell. As the joke goes, you don't sell ice to Eskimos or sand to Arabs. By pre-screening the prospects, conversion is much easier.

The prospect generally doesn't see this step, as it's done long before the scammer meets the prospect. To counter this, simply don't be surprised when you got invited / solicited for sales pitch which seems to be exactly what you want. People already "know" you.

Probing Questions

Probing questions are pretty easy... Ask them what *do* they want. Due to pre-screening, you already have a decent idea on WHAT they want. However, there can be a little distance between what they say they want, vs. what they will settle for now. And asking questions will clarify that. 

If the presentation is pretty much a monologue, then the salesperson will be asking rhetorical questions, like "Are you looking for financial security in an insecure world?" "Are you looking toward better health?" then answer them him- or herself, "the answer is ________!"    And scammer will watch the reactions and see if s/he needs to change the speech. 

The salesperson will almost always frame the question so the answer is "yes". By answering things in the affirmative, prospect will have influenced him- or herself to answer "yes" later. 

The prospect should remain neutral for this part, not only to deny the presenter any clues on how to proceed, but to remain neutral mentally rather than "psyched up", in order to evaluate facts rather than emotions.

The Tease

The tease require a bit of mystery, and a commitment from the prospect to find out more. A "capture page" where the prospect watch a video and enter their info is such a tease if there's no details. The idea is to pique your interest, without telling you much. 

Tease works on relatively naive people who are not used to the various sales techniques, but not on veterans. Veterans will simply demand the information they need to make the decision, and will not waste time waiting for your "big reveal". 

The prospect should again, remain neutral when confronted with the tease. You are after facts, not teases with no solid info.