Have you been fooled?

 The George Santos' multiple personalities/personas situation led me to read about con artists today. There's a lot of research out there about who con artists are and how they trick people. It's a sophisticated, conscienceless, destructive act. Recently there's been a number of con artists who have been held accountable for their destructive acts, con artists like Epstein, Madoff, Jeffs, and now Santos. Perhaps a greater con artist, Donald Trump, has recently been held accountable for his lawlessness in New York and will hopefully be held accountable for the way he conned many Americans to believe The Big Lie and violently attack our nation's Capitol on January 6th. 

As I thought about con artists today, I found myself asking a lot of questions including the following:

• Has social media and the Internet empowered an uptick in con artists trickery and success?
• Who falls prey to con artists?
• What techniques do con artists use to conduct their crimes?
• What background and psychology creates con artists in the first place?
  
• How can we better hold con artists accountable when their criminal behavior begins rather than waiting until they harm many people and places?
• How do we educate people to beware of, avoid, and report con artists?

Then I thought back to times I've been fooled. I unknowingly was fooled a few times in life, and during each of those episodes, these behaviors led to the trickery:

• trusting too early and too much based on a person's position of authority
• not asking enough questions and researching the situation extensively--somewhat blindly going along to later find out a situation was not what I thought it was
• not taking the time to carefully listen and observe a situation

Fortunately my values for the most part kept me from entering any kind of situation that resulted in too-great trickery or harm to others, though there were times when I was led astray by these con artists. 

I've known people who were conned too. The worst of these situations was via a phone scam. Luckily my relative had the sense to call a lawyer before giving away any money or information which saved him from the scam. I typically ask scammers for their phone number and name and tell them I'll check out their offer with the FBI before committing--that's when they drop the connection. 

We can all be fooled by sophisticated con artists, but we can all work against this in the following ways:

• Do your research--never feel pressure to give an answer right away
• Seek expert counsel with regards to any situation--know the facts, don't blindly follow the myths
• Just because someone is wealthy, popular, or has a title doesn't make them an expert--research these authorities to see if their words match their actions. 
• Dissect people's words and claims. Recently many Republicans who spoke during the Speaker vote session in the House of Representatives spoke well, but when I looked up their voting records I noticed that their votes in Congress often didn't match the words they spoke during those days. They talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk. 

It's human nature to trust and to grab onto that which you think will make life better, but that old adage if it's too good to be true, then it probably isn't true is a good adage to remember and apply. Most good things in life take time, perseverance, and collaboration, and most people are working to do the right thing. Those that fear monger, make big promises, and have a lot to say with little action to back it up are likely con artists simply using you for their own fame/gain. Don't be fooled.