Scams and frauds take many forms and shapes, but all fraudulent activities have the same purpose – to take advantage of the victim. While many frauds and scams use creative and innovative strategies and approaches to rip people off, most of them fundamentally use the same tactics.

Defining frauds and scams:

Fraud can essentially be defined as an intentional deception that results in personal gain for one party and personal injury or loss for the other party.

Similarly, a scam is typically defined as a fraudulent business scheme.

In most cases of fraud and scams that are reported to the Better Business Bureau one or many of the following 10 red flags could have been an indicator to the victim that they were about to be ripped off.

10 Common Red Flags to Watch For:

Red Flag #1: High Pressure Sales Tactics

Con artists want to take advantage of you. They are desperate for you to buy into their scheme if they are going to profit from you. Impulse shopping and decision making is a chronic condition in our culture and high-pressure sales tactics often distract people sufficiently to encourage and promote impulsive decision-making. Scammers using such tactics often act aggressively, speak loudly, dominate the conversation, express urgency and refuse to let you disengage—all with the hopes that the longer they can pressure you, the more distracted you will become and the more likely you will make a quick decision to their benefit.

Protect Yourself

The simplest way to protect yourself from scams using high pressure sales tactics is to avoid high pressure sales situations at all costs. Learn to identify when someone is using such tactics and ask them to stop, walk away or hang up the phone. If someone shows up at your door using these tactics, ask them immediately to leave your property and inform them that you will call the police if they do not.

Log in next week for Red Flag #2: Limited Opportunity Sales