Coronavirus demons: How are scammers cheating us during the pandemic?

“Hello, sorry, I’ll delay you a little. I live in this house. Did you hear that a saleswoman with coronavirus was taken away from the store around the corner yesterday in an ambulance? Are you coming from there? Let me exchange banknotes for cashless payments – I will transfer them to the card now. Why would you touch infected money?” – with approximately such a good message, a young man turned to a 70-year-old resident of Kazan.

“Very friendly, attentive, helpful. You, he says, reminded me of my grandmother. She lives in another city. Maybe someone will help her now, as I did to you, ”she later told her daughter. Of course, the woman did not find her five thousand rubles on the card.

In the Moscow region, even before the announcement of the introduction of fines, but already during quarantine and allowed dog walking, the girl fell into the hands of “vigilantes”, who made her look like she was walking in the park without a special pass and that a fine of 500 rubles was due for this . The girl paid, otherwise she would have to “go to the police.”

Letters began to come to e-mail with promises to reduce income tax, restructure debts and loans, and such appeals are signed very convincingly and branded as “well-known companies”.

The sale of fake coronavirus tests, “super-effective” drugs has begun, and the delivery of in-demand goods (for example, ginger, masks, gloves) is offered at an inflated price. Various calls for charity in connection with the coronavirus – for treatment or assistance to the sick – live or online.

Fraudsters also read the news, and they are, as they say, in the trend of public life. Why is fraud on the rise right now? It would seem that people at this time, on the contrary, are more attentive and vigilant to information. But…

Why do we believe?

In a situation of a pandemic and total changes, the feeling of uncertainty and fear increases. “At the moment, “fear from fear” dominates, which is based on a very powerful existential fear that the situation could get out of control, that our lives and those of our loved ones could be in danger, explains social psychologist, psychodramatherapist Miljana Blazic . – Fraudsters are well aware that a person in a state of fear reacts instinctively, and they try to quickly intimidate and achieve their goal.

In a situation of fear, a person triggers a genetically embedded “fight or flight” mechanism, first described by the Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon in 1915. The purpose of this mechanism is to help us survive in dangerous situations. Because of fear, our muscles tense, adrenaline is released, breathing and heart rate increase – we are preparing for the fight.

Sometimes fighting isn’t the best option (strengths are not equal, or we don’t feel like we have enough resources), and then we choose to flee.

“In the described example with a fine for walking a dog, such a mechanism just worked: the girl decided to pay – to “escape” from a conflict and dangerous situation so that the worst would not happen – proceedings with the police,” continues the psychologist. – In the examples given, the scammers have shown impudence. They also use more sophisticated techniques – for example, intelligence. They can be very erudite and pretend to be empathic because they have no moral barriers to getting things done.

They are specially prepared by studying the tricks and techniques of professional scammers. They are also generally excellent manipulators, non-violent, and able to quickly and accurately assess circumstances and people’s behavior.”

Fraudsters are well aware of human nature and can read non-verbal signs, they use the situation of fear and are good at “reading” from us what we need most now, and this is exactly what they offer. I want to exclaim: “How did you guess that this is exactly what I have been thinking about lately ?!” But it’s their “job” to figure out what to catch us on.

And how charming they are! When a person laughs, his eyes shine, and we believe him, as if losing internal protective barriers. In addition, in each of us in a given situation, different positions or roles are included: an adult, a child, a parent. “When someone addresses us from top to bottom, in an authoritative, commanding tone, he launches a response in us from the role of a child,” explains Miljana Blazic. – What role is included at this moment depends on how strongly each of the positions is developed in us.

The one who is more trusting has the most developed role of the child, and the parental position of the interlocutor “from above” activates it in us. How to act in this case? Call on your inner parent to help take care of your inner child while our inner adult takes care of the scammers. It is in the position of an adult that we operate with facts, without unnecessary uncontrollable emotions. In this position, we make informed decisions.”

How do you protect yourself?

“First, do not be afraid and panic. Fear is useful when there is a threat to life and we need to save ourselves, be careful and adapt to a new situation of uncertainty, continues Miljana Blazic. – In all other cases, fear is not our helper: it blocks our consciousness and actions.

Secondly, in times of emergency and uncertainty, we need to collect reliable information about the introduced rules and protection measures. It is necessary to look at the official appeals of state bodies and their representatives, read trustworthy websites, newspapers and magazines, announcements from medical institutions on how and where you can get tested for the virus and get the necessary medicines. Possession of up-to-date and reliable information will become a real weapon in the global information war and our personal protection.”

If you have relatives and friends whom you can quickly call to clarify something or consult immediately as soon as a dangerous situation arises, this can be an additional remedy.

Also, constantly monitor information about what other know-how scammers have invented. “Be confident in yourself – not only in this situation, but in general always. Trust yourself, your eyes, your own intuition. Even if you have no doubts, give yourself time to think, the psychologist recommends. “You have the right to let yourself breathe and calmly think about what is happening. Then the chances of making a mistake will be much less.

There is such a thing as “counterintuitiveness”. Wendy Patrick, an American researcher of major crimes and the most dangerous criminals, talks about him in the book Red Flags. The author explains the essence of the phenomenon as follows: what we are told does not correspond to what we see with our own eyes and the feelings we experience. It’s a great way to check what’s been said with facts.”

In a further explanation of this phenomenon, the expert calls it “intuitive dissonance” and gives interesting examples from scientific studies on how it manifests itself. For example, a person begins to blink with a different frequency, the toes of his legs involuntarily turn towards the exit, he uses various objects as a barrier, the tone of his voice decreases.

Other interesting examples can be found in Pamela Meyer’s book How to Recognize Lies. “The person smiles, but the wrinkles around the eyes are not involved, as with a real smile,” the psychologist cites excerpts from the book. A real smile is wider than a fake one.

Or the interlocutor says something in the affirmative, while shaking his head in the negative. Or a sudden smile appears on his face, which can be interpreted as “I’m lucky, I’ll deceive you.” In a conversation, the interlocutor can use words of absolute negation – for example, “never”. So the deceiver tries to completely distance himself from the truth.

Another interesting example is the observation of psychology professor David Matsumoto, who noticed that deceivers continue to give additional information on their topic, regardless of the course of the conversation.

Despite all the tricks and techniques of scammers, we have an “antidote” – intuition, which rarely deceives us. And sometimes it’s just common sense. You can choose the option of “non-resistance” – get rid of the scammer and not wag your nerves.

“Get a fallback plan: keep a small amount of money in your pocket just in case, when you leave the house. If you happen to meet a scammer who is too pushy, or you just don’t want to waste time on him and experience unnecessary stress, give him the money you prepared and tell him that this is all you have,” Miljana Blazic suggests.

The best defense is to be in contact with others, even if we are formally isolated. Use all available means of communication so as not to feel lonely. “Now is the time to get closer to each other. Show care and love for your loved ones, take care of yourself and find meaning in these days that we all have to spend in self-isolation, the psychologist sums up. “Connecting with loved ones and creatively thinking about time will give you extra strength when you suddenly encounter scammers.”