Scammers thrive when our emotions are heightened, we have a lot going on, or things seem a bit too overwhelming. When we are in a life transition, our emotions are activated and there is a lot of activity going on around us. Everything seems so busy. During a move, our whole life is turned upside-down. There never seems to be enough time to unload boxes–and forget about hanging pictures on the wall.
While all that is happening, there could be another big event, like new job stress, disrupting the balance–the norm. Sometimes everything piles on at once and we brush it off, saying, “When it rains, it pours.” When we say this, what we really mean is we are time poor and there is just too much happening all at once. When in this state of grasping for a moment to complete the simple necessities of life, we are most vulnerable to scams. We might get some bad news, like that our internet service we rely on for our remote job will be disconnected if we don’t pay. With all the calamity, we start checking boxes to get things done without pausing with curiosity to save a buck, and we pay. This problem becomes one more thing to get done to move through the chaos, before we recognize it as a scam.
In addition to taking advantage of our way-too-busy lives, our grief in losing a loved one, our excitement about transitioning to retirement, scammers are using psychological and emotional manipulation to execute convincing financial fraud. Yes, they are using our feelings and heightened state against us, for their benefit. That’s why, when we talk about scam prevention, we don’t just talk about the types of scams that exist. We talk about establishing a regular practice of pausing when something doesn’t feel right and when money or personal information is requested, and then getting curious by seeking out verification and engaging our community.
Learn more about scam prevention strategies and recovery resources on our website and in our Navigating Scams brochure: https://ago.vermont.gov/Navigating-Scams
