Psychology Today has an interesting blog post describing how one of its contributors fell for a classic con many years ago.

Paul J Zak, the hapless victim of a con known as “The Pigeon Drop”, explains what was at work in his mind when he fell for the confidence trick.


From the article:

The key to a con is not that you trust the conman, but that he shows he trusts you. Conmen ply their trade by appearing fragile or needing help, by seeming vulnerable. Because of THOMAS [1], the human brain makes us feel good when we help others–this is the basis for attachment to family and friends and cooperation with strangers. "I need your help" is a potent stimulus for action.

Hopefully you won’t use this information to run your own cons, but it’s always helpful to know how and why you might be more vulnerable than you realise when someone isn’t telling you the truth.

To read the post, visit: How to run a con.

Photo courtesy of daveblume

Footnotes:

1.	The Human Oxytocin Mediated Attachment System – this is explained in greater depth in the article.
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