What is Fraud and How do the Con Artists Succeed?
According to Black’s Law Dictionary fraud involves an intentional perversion of the truth for the purpose of deceiving someone to part with something of value. In Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The New Psychology of Persuasion (revised edition, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1993) he outlines six psychological triggers that con artists use to succeed. These include: Reciprocation: the con artist gives the victim assistance or a free gift causing the victim to feel obligated to offer something in return. (Example: they send you a calendar in hopes that you will send them a donation). Commitment and consistency: the con artist gets the victim to accept a certain proposition and then refers back to it later to persuade the victim to commit to something further. The social embarrassment of seeming indecisive or inconsistent may cause the victim to agree to some action. (Example: they get you to agree that it is sad that children are starving in some parts of this world and
