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Business
expert Jack Payne tells how to avoid falling
victim to today's scam artists
MAGALIA, Calif., Nov. 8
/PRNewswire/ -- Jack Payne has spent nearly
a half-century observing scam artists and
con men. And he's written the book on how to
be a scam artist - literally. Payne's legal
thriller Six Hours Past Thursday is
both a portrait of a con man and a
cautionary tale to those who would
unwittingly become a scam artist's next meal
ticket.
Six Hours offers an
insider's view into the mind of a scam
artist. And, according to Payne, every con
man takes a similar approach to finding
people to fleece. Luckily for readers of
Payne's legal thriller and his Con Man's
Blog the author is spilling scammers'
secrets.
Culled from Payne's
decades of experience in business, including
as founder of the "Business Opportunities
Digest" newsletter and author of 55 books on
business, the novel's insights into con
games are chilling.
First, as Payne
illustrates through Six Hours Past
Thursday's oily protagonist, Steve Draves, a
scam artist is looking to reel in a sucker.
For most con men, that
means the elderly, the ill, the
disadvantaged and people who tend to believe
without questioning. Scam artists will
quickly weed out skeptics, says Payne, so
individuals can protect themselves from
falling victim to a con by asking logical
questions and doing their homework.
Once a scam artist has
identified his targets, he will enlist their
sympathy or outrage, play to their egos, or
capitalize on their weaknesses. The woman
desperate to lose weight, for example, is
likely to pay a premium for the con man's
"exclusive report" on dropping 50 pounds.
The guy who just sold
his first stock is likely to want the scam
artist's "inside information" on the next
big deal. And the families dealing with lung
disease as a result of the local factory's
negligence will probably support the con
man's "crusade" against big business.
To avoid arousing
suspicion, scam artists will start small,
asking for just twenty dollars for their
product, service or cause. But as soon as a
target buys in, the con man ups the ante.
The next scam is bigger, and, according to
Payne, there will be a paper to sign at the
last minute - just a formality, of course -
that waives the signer's right to legal
action against the scammer.
"Those are just the
basics," Payne explained. "The scam artist's
end game is to create an atmosphere where
emotion trumps logic. I hear about new scams
every day. Con men are getting more
sophisticated. I urge my readers to arm
themselves with information."
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