Con artists have an easier time fooling smart people

Maria Konnikova is the author of "The Confidence Game," a book about con artists and why we fall for their deception. Here she tells us why intelligence can make us more susceptible to being conned.

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[obaid]

why does it seem like her husband left her

[TheOriginalFayari]

Is she okay? She looks like she's about to start bawling her eyes out.

[ShabazzTBL]

The trick is to question everything. Even if you think you know it. I learned that awhile ago and it’s helped me many times. Plus I know that I don’t know shit about money and don’t have much to risk so that helps shield me from schemes too haha. One time in high school I went to a “job interview” and it was definitely a pyramid scheme. I thought this doesn’t really make sense and it’s very risky. I’m not doing this. Later when I told my mom about it she explained to me what a pyramid scheme was. If something seems off don’t accept the offer right away. Take the information and think through it on your own. The conman is a smooth talker and will be able to patch up any holes you see in it but if he’s not there to do that then it likely would all fall apart as you look at it. And I guess that depends on how knowledgeable you are on the subject so probably don’t jump into fields you don’t understand.

[jaeger]

Somehow her body language and mumbling tone of voice make me think that she isn't confident at all.

[SashaRomeroMusic]

Sources? Kinda hard to believe you're not pulling a con yourself when you just baselessly claim a bunch of stuff and even your examples are just "this one time, I knew a smart guy who was conned by a psychic!" I could claim that people who eat lasagna are more likely to be math wizards with evidence like that

[pascallenoir]

Satan doesn't even exist. All smart people know it.