«We Will Help You»: Scammers' Manipulation

Clinical psychologist Konstantin Nebytov explained how criminal psychological influence works — a set of actions used by scammers to subjugate their victims« will. It is based primarily on a sense of fear that literally »switches off« common sense and makes a person dangerously suggestible.

This phenomenon of telephone scamming did not appear yesterday or even a couple of years ago. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the US was hit by a series of incidents where someone calling himself «Officer Scott» would call small cafes and diners and tell managers about a certain operational measure requiring staff to help law enforcement. However, «Officer Scott«s» methods were strange: he asked food service workers to strip and perform indecent acts on each other and in front of customers. And they believed him.

The victims (let«s call them that) of «Officer Scott» are people of completely different backgrounds, says Konstantin Nebytov. They differ in gender, age, personal life, marital status, and social history. Except that all but Walter Nix are connected by workplace, but this factor is questionable. If we rely on it, it would mean that all food service workers are susceptible to such influence. The category of victims is too diverse, and lumping them into a specific group would be incorrect.

The incidents in the US are merely an illustration of how much scammers can subjugate their victims« will. Not everyone who gets a call from a fraudster becomes a victim, but there are certain patterns that scammers rely on.

Four main scenarios under which a person can become a victim of scammers: