Forum: Don’t try to play along to outsmart a scammer
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I was disheartened to read the article about a woman who lost $78,000 in a job scam despite thinking she was smart enough to spot a con (‘I thought I could outwit scammers’: Woman who lost over $78,000 to job scam in four days, April 6).
Despite growing awareness campaigns and countless warnings, some continue to underestimate the psychological manipulation scammers employ. They believe that their awareness or intelligence will shield them. Some even engage scammers out of boredom or curiosity, thinking they are in control, until it’s too late. In this case, the woman lost almost all her life savings.
Scammers are armed with psychological tricks designed to exploit trust, loneliness and overconfidence. No one is immune – not the educated, not the alert, not even the tech-savvy.
The best defence isn’t to play along, probe further or test your luck. It’s to end the interaction the moment you feel something is off.
I hope more will learn that we don’t need to be cleverer than a scammer. We just need to be cautious enough to walk away.
Gabriel Chia
