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How Can You Spot A Con? 2 Point Checklist
posted Monday, 17 October 2005
How Can You Tell When You Are Being
Conned?
When someone tries to convince you to use this or think/vote this way, instead of using that or thinking/voting that way; ask yourself 2 questions:
1 Do they supply facts, examples, statistics & checkable sources for their promotion or objections?
2 Do they provide an alternative with facts, examples, statistics and checkable sources?
You can usually tell who is conning you because they may have an alternative, but they invariably do not supply data for either their promotion or their objections. They supply you with an unsubstantiated argument; or worse, with other references, who believe as they do. Of course, that proves nothing. That argumentative tactic is called 'An Appeal to Authority'. Most con artists are not dumb enough to give you invalid figures, which can be checked. They may, however, be clever enough to present you with some facts, which seem to support their contentions, while hiding other facts which are both relevant and essential for you to make an informed decision. This is the most dangerous kind of con because it is hard to see what you don't know about. (Bill O'Reilly is superb at working this particular con.)
Saying that John McEnroe uses this tennis racquet, Tiger Woods uses these golf clubs or Michael Jordan wears these sneakers is often a ruse. Tennis players have been known to prefer a tennis racquet different from the one they endorse. Jimmy Connors had his preferred racquet doctored to look like the endorsement racquet, while he kept playing tennis with the preferred brand and model. So would you rather try the one Connors really used or the one he was paid to endorse?
Once I was in the market for electronic equipment. The guy at the first store promoted the cheaper model, saying the difference between the two was negligible and the one he pushed was cheaper. Well, of course I went to another store. At the second store, the guy was pushing the more expensive model. I said to the salesman, "You probably want me to buy the more expensive model to increase your commission". Then I told him what the first salesman had said. The second salesman then advised me that he worked on straight salary, not commission. He also told me that the first salesman, at the other store, did work on commission, but that the commission on the more expensive product was 10%, whereas the commission on the cheaper item was 20% - the first salesman was increasing his commission by selling me the cheaper item. He was doing himself a favor, not me. When I returned to the first store and asked him about his commission structure, he suddenly became busy with another customer.
That brings me to another axiom. When buying any product or service, always ask a competitor for his preference rather than a supplied reference by the salesman. If the competitor recommends something entirely different, ask him why not the other product. Then tell him what the original salesman said about the first product and wait for the fallout. You've heard the axiom, "If you ask Peter about Paul, you learn more about Peter than you do about Paul".
Well, Tabacco's Axiom goes like this: "If you want to know the truth about products, services or recommendations, ask Peter first, then ask Paul; if they disagree, tell Paul what Peter said, then go back to Peter and tell him Paul's retort." This way you will learn the unvarnished truths about both products.
Incidentally, some salesmen won't give you the facts because they've only been working at that job for two weeks and don't know the answers to your questions. Sometimes, salesmen are not basically con artists; they just don't know anything.
Finally, don't forget that old standby: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."
The idea for this Article came to me while I was thinking about George W. Bush and Bill O'Reilly.
T.A.B.A.C.C.O. (Truth About Business And Congressional Crimes Organization)
Conned?
When someone tries to convince you to use this or think/vote this way, instead of using that or thinking/voting that way; ask yourself 2 questions:
1 Do they supply facts, examples, statistics & checkable sources for their promotion or objections?
2 Do they provide an alternative with facts, examples, statistics and checkable sources?
You can usually tell who is conning you because they may have an alternative, but they invariably do not supply data for either their promotion or their objections. They supply you with an unsubstantiated argument; or worse, with other references, who believe as they do. Of course, that proves nothing. That argumentative tactic is called 'An Appeal to Authority'. Most con artists are not dumb enough to give you invalid figures, which can be checked. They may, however, be clever enough to present you with some facts, which seem to support their contentions, while hiding other facts which are both relevant and essential for you to make an informed decision. This is the most dangerous kind of con because it is hard to see what you don't know about. (Bill O'Reilly is superb at working this particular con.)
Saying that John McEnroe uses this tennis racquet, Tiger Woods uses these golf clubs or Michael Jordan wears these sneakers is often a ruse. Tennis players have been known to prefer a tennis racquet different from the one they endorse. Jimmy Connors had his preferred racquet doctored to look like the endorsement racquet, while he kept playing tennis with the preferred brand and model. So would you rather try the one Connors really used or the one he was paid to endorse?
Once I was in the market for electronic equipment. The guy at the first store promoted the cheaper model, saying the difference between the two was negligible and the one he pushed was cheaper. Well, of course I went to another store. At the second store, the guy was pushing the more expensive model. I said to the salesman, "You probably want me to buy the more expensive model to increase your commission". Then I told him what the first salesman had said. The second salesman then advised me that he worked on straight salary, not commission. He also told me that the first salesman, at the other store, did work on commission, but that the commission on the more expensive product was 10%, whereas the commission on the cheaper item was 20% - the first salesman was increasing his commission by selling me the cheaper item. He was doing himself a favor, not me. When I returned to the first store and asked him about his commission structure, he suddenly became busy with another customer.
That brings me to another axiom. When buying any product or service, always ask a competitor for his preference rather than a supplied reference by the salesman. If the competitor recommends something entirely different, ask him why not the other product. Then tell him what the original salesman said about the first product and wait for the fallout. You've heard the axiom, "If you ask Peter about Paul, you learn more about Peter than you do about Paul".
Well, Tabacco's Axiom goes like this: "If you want to know the truth about products, services or recommendations, ask Peter first, then ask Paul; if they disagree, tell Paul what Peter said, then go back to Peter and tell him Paul's retort." This way you will learn the unvarnished truths about both products.
Incidentally, some salesmen won't give you the facts because they've only been working at that job for two weeks and don't know the answers to your questions. Sometimes, salesmen are not basically con artists; they just don't know anything.
Finally, don't forget that old standby: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."
The idea for this Article came to me while I was thinking about George W. Bush and Bill O'Reilly.
T.A.B.A.C.C.O. (Truth About Business And Congressional Crimes Organization)
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