If someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a family member or a friend desperate for money, the US Federal Trade Commission suggests you to resist the urge to act immediately, no matter how dramatic the story is. — Dreamstime/TNS
Believing that fraud can't happen to us – because we're too smart, logical or informed – may make us more vulnerable. Successful scam artists skillfully overcome our defenses and get us into emotional states that override logical thinking, says Kathy Stokes, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) fraud prevention programmes director.
"Scammers call it getting the victim under the ether," she says.
