{"id":27693,"date":"2021-05-08T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=27693"},"modified":"2021-05-06T08:17:29","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T13:17:29","slug":"being-your-own-con-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/being-your-own-con-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"R. Paul Wilson On: Being Your Own Con Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Imagine that\nthis time next year you are in a completely unpredictable situation – something\nno one at this exact moment could have expected – a scenario where new and\nnovel con games might arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you\nanticipate these future scams and protect yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Numbers Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Be a con\nartist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, not\nreally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t mean\nBE a con artist; what I really mean is that you should learn to think<\/em>\nlike one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a gambler<\/a>, why not look at scams from a similar perspective?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the chances any of us might be targeted and what are the chances we might avoid getting caught out and escape a hustler\u2019s<\/a> trap?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pickpockets<\/a> we can control by adjusting our choices of where we go, what we carry and how we carry it. Make it obvious and easy in a busy public place well-known for pocket pinchers and the odds of us getting ripped off go way up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a taxi, blend into your environment<\/a> and protect your belongings somewhere neither obvious or easy to access and the odds swing into your favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other\nwords: we control the conditions of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not\nalways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our luggage\nmight be stolen while in transit but even here our choice of suitcase can lower\nthe likelihood of having it \u201cgo missing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend once\ntold me her entire Louis Vuitton luggage set was stolen from a hotel baggage\nroom despite holding nothing but cheap clothes and shoes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bags\nthemselves, of course, were brand new and worth a fortune so even if they were\nfilled with dirty socks, the thieves were guaranteed a score once they aired\nout her sweaty bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend took\nsome satisfaction in the fact that the bags were actually fake but as I pointed\nout, they looked real-enough to be worth stealing and she might still have her\nbelongings if she\u2019d bought some genuine, less ostentatious luggage that isn\u2019t\njust begging to be stolen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s A Scam For That<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Close
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Common theft\ncan target anyone but each of is vulnerable to specific scams associated with\nour businesses or leisure activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you play the\nstock market? There\u2019s a scam for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you use\nonline banking? There\u2019s a scam for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you carry \u201cno-contact\u201d credit cards<\/a>? There\u2019s a scam for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you gamble online<\/a>? You guessed it\u2014 there\u2019s a scam for that, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you follow these articles<\/a>, you\u2019re probably hip to many scams that might affect you but as I recently pointed out, the COVID-19 pandemic has opened countless doors of opportunity to criminals and it\u2019s impossible to keep abreast of every wrinkle on any swindle<\/a> that\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us\nneeds to watch our own backs to some extent so while taking the time to search\nthe internet or read articles like this one, a powerful protective strategy is\nto jump the fence and see your own situation from the other side of the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be Your Own Hustler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Hacker
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you ever\nneed to know how vulnerable your home is to burglars, try to break in sometime\nand you\u2019ll soon find out how easy it is to get inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly,\nwhenever presented with new processes for business transactions, gambling\nscenarios or day-to-day activities, ask yourself: how would I take advantage of\nthat if I happened to be a crook?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so many\nmeetings taking place over online conference providers, it\u2019s not hard to\nbelieve that extremely sensitive corporate, personal or political conversations\nare happening all the time and are therefore ripe pickings for anyone who can\nbreak into those calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security has\nbeen beefed up across the industry with passwords, two-factor authentication\nand encryption offering confidence to clients around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while\nthose clients are talking on a perfectly secure conference platform, what other\ndevices, apps or software is available for motivated hackers and thieves to\ntake advantage of?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps our\nphones could be listening to the call we are making on our laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few\nmonths ago, a ubiquitous piece of software proved easy to use as a way to\nconnect to any user and open their microphone and while that flaw may have been\nidentified before it could be used, the chances are excellent there are plenty of\nother back doors or trap doors out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps if we\nknow where a target might be, we could simply climb a tree, point a piece of\nhardware at their home-office window and listen the old-fashioned way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe we can\nmail them a gift with a cellular device hidden inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay Fresh<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I ruminate on\nall of these possibilities based on any activity I find myself participating in\nand I recommend you do too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while most\nof us are now familiar with Zoom and Skype and FaceTime and Facebook calls, I\nremain hyper-aware that this new trend has opened up a buffet of opportunities\nfor anyone seeking to do wrong for fun or profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my country\n(Scotland) we\u2019ve all been asked to install a Test & Trace app to help\ncontrol and monitor the spread of COVID-19 and while I\u2019m glad to comply for\nthose reasons, I can\u2019t help but wonder how secure these apps are in the long\nrun or if there\u2019s already an available method to take advantage of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Coronavirus
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reading\nthrough the instructions for these apps, there\u2019s a brief warning about scams\nand what might happen, but I can quickly conceive of how many opportunities are\nnow available to con artists able to weasel their own logic around new and unfamiliar\nprocedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It beggars\nbelief that governments or companies don\u2019t take more time to consult on the\nfeasibility of deception.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as white\nhat hackers can help identify potential means of attack or existing weaknesses\nin a system, experts on deception can spot potential opportunities for those\nwith a criminal mindset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only you<\/em> really know your own<\/em>\nvulnerabilities and while most of us are susceptible in similar ways, it\u2019s\nworth paying attention to anything that might be particular to your own online\nor real-world activity and either educate yourself or assess your own\nweaknesses by thinking from the other side of the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why wait to get caught out when you can be your own con artist; after all, you know more about your potential weaknesses than almost anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more tips and tricks to keep you safe from scammers, check out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
R. Paul Wilson On: Informed Influence<\/a><\/blockquote>