Pressure Tactics used by Scammers

Read time: 1 minute 30 seconds

Scammers pressure you to act urgently. They want you to make a hasty decision without thinking it over or discussing it with others.

Pressure comes in two main flavors:

• You will score a GAIN
• You will avoid a LOSS

Examples of pressure to trick you into believing you'll score a GAIN:

• Promises of a safe investment, high profits, easy quick payback, valuable prizes.
• Expensive merchandise at a bargain price.
• Glowing (but fake) reviews and testimonials.
• Limited opportunity, offer expires soon.
• Reassurance that you're making a smart decision

Examples of pressure to make you think you're avoiding a LOSS:

• You'll lose all your money unless you move it elsewhere.
• You will be arrested and jailed.
• It's an emergency.
• You're talking with an authority figure (e.g. bank officer, attorney, government official, supervisor) ... which plays on our natural tendency to obey authority.
• You're talking with a romantic interest or close relative.

Scammers want you to act quickly and to use only information which came directly from the scammer. Scammers actively discourage you from discussing the matter with anyone else.

Fortunately, we can recognize the three early warning signs of a scam. These signs are often visible long before the pressure begins:

1. You're in dialogue ...

2. ... which you did not start ...

3. ... and the topic turns to money (or anything valuable) …

It's a scam!

Whenever you're in a dialogue which you did not start:

• Never send money or divulge personal info (account numbers, passwords, etc.) under pressure.
• Always pause and think it over, even if you're getting pressured to act immediately.
• Always run it past someone else, even if they forbid you to contact others.

Remember, you can always contact ScamAvoid for a fast, easy, free, no-obligation opinion as to whether you're being scammed. Scammers are experts manipulating your emotions by fabricating a scenario which "requires" your urgent action. A scammer's job is to pressure you to act immediately and rashly. Let's make their job more difficult.

Don't get scammed! Get a second opinion: fast, secure, easy, confidential, free! Contact ScamAvoid on (we're everywhere: Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, ScamAvoid.com, email, etc.)