Scammer Mind Tricks

In the BBC:  On the psychology of scamming.   While we often pay attention to the technology involved,  the scamming methods that exist have been around for a long time.

" ... So what does make someone vulnerable? To look for answers to that question, Modic and his colleagues have quizzed thousands of people, asking them first whether they think various scams are plausible – and whether they have fallen victim to them – before asking them to perform a personality test. The research has identified a number of characteristics that people who are victims of scams seem to share in common. Some of these traits – like a lack of self-control – we would probably recognise as dangerous. But others – a trust in authority, a desire to act in the same way as our friends, or a tendency to act in a consistent way – we might think of as good characteristics. ... " 

Well done piece with research to back it up.