I like to think most people I meet are genuine and honest. But it would be naive not to realise that, every now and then, someone will try and pull a fast one on you.

Here's one strategy that I use:

If I don't understand what is being said to me I am immediately suspicious.

I think a lot of charlatans use this technique to try and hoodwink people. They say a lot quite quickly, and often articulately, and with confidence, to try and persuade you of something. But you don't quite grasp it and it's hard to say "I don't understand", because you don't want to appear stupid.

And that's what the con artist is relying on.

That's the technique that was tried on me when I first applied for a mortgage. The 'consultant' was throwing lots of facts and figures at me and using lots of jargon I didn't understand. And ended with "... you know endowment policies really are the smart choice"

It sounded like a bit of a gamble to me, and I didn't understand how he was trying to justify it. So I chose not to believe him and said I'd prefer the regular repayment option. (Thankfully!)

Then he said "oh, I think I just blinded you with science."

Well, no you didn't, you just tried to bamboozle me with BS.

Being a fan of science I really didn't like that statement. Science is a methodology for trying to find the truth, what he said had nothing to do with the truth.

So whenever I am in a situation like that I will always say I don't understand, if I don't. Because, as Albert Einstein said: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough". And I would add "or you are BS'ing". Either way I'm not going to buy it.

What strategies do you use?

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