Why Technical Knowledge Alone Does Not Protect People From Scams.

[I_Anime]

This thread came about because of the conversation I had with my friends yesterday. At least one of my friends stated that most people get scammed because they don't know much of technical things.

I can partly agree with him, as indeed, not knowing much, or not knowing about technical things can make it easier to be scammed by someone.  However, there are also many cases where technical skilled individuals still fall victim to fraud.

So, if technical knowledge is not enough what else is needed? Imo, what I think is needed are: critical thinking, emotional control, patient and healthy skepticism, because scammers mostly succeed because they explore human psychology rather than technical weakness. therefore,  greed, trust, fears, urgency and overconfidence are some of the common tools used by scammers.

Understanding how wallet works, and how signature and blockchain transactions work is perfectly ok, but it doesn't prevent you from being manipulated. So, feel free to give your 2 cents on this discussion.

You are actually even those that have technical knowledge still get scammed , like you said they usually explore human psychology, that’s why they always the kind of folks they go after . Those that are gullible , or those that want to make quick money and are lazy when come to researching , that’s why we have to always apply proper caution with whatever we are doing, there are different kind of method of scam at there that’s why we should also make ourselves be familiar with them , by researching and learning from others story .

[Franklyn-wood]

This thread came about because of the conversation I had with my friends yesterday. At least one of my friends stated that most people get scammed because they don't know much of technical things.

I can partly agree with him, as indeed, not knowing much, or not knowing about technical things can make it easier to be scammed by someone.  However, there are also many cases where technical skilled individuals still fall victim to fraud.

So, if technical knowledge is not enough what else is needed? Imo, what I think is needed are: critical thinking, emotional control, patient and healthy skepticism, because scammers mostly succeed because they explore human psychology rather than technical weakness. therefore,  greed, trust, fears, urgency and overconfidence are some of the common tools used by scammers.

Understanding how wallet works, and how signature and blockchain transactions work is perfectly ok, but it doesn't prevent you from being manipulated. So, feel free to give your 2 cents on this discussion.

You are actually even those that have technical knowledge still get scammed , like you said they usually explore human psychology, that’s why they always the kind of folks they go after . Those that are gullible , or those that want to make quick money and are lazy when come to researching , that’s why we have to always apply proper caution with whatever we are doing, there are different kind of method of scam at there that’s why we should also make ourselves be familiar with them , by researching and learning from others story .

To me I believe that what you don't know is more than you. If one is not informed he or she will be deformed because information is power. Scammers are psychological in nature join with the information the know, so they read there subject reactions then from there observation they then come to a conclusion of what and how to penetrate into the person. Before now I use to think they are using charm on people, bit came to understand that not all of them do that.

[Hazink]

Just be fully informed and everything you don't understand and your other skills can contribute to you avoiding scammers. Some of these scammers don't even understand some technical things, but they just depend on reading human reactions to certain things and exploit them using their own vulnerabilities. If we are less greedy and don't trust much we can be able to at least limit how much exposed we are to scammers hackers and how to prevent them is where once technical knowledge can help them detect and prevent and not engineering scam

[EluguHcman]

So, if technical knowledge is not enough what else is needed? Imo, what I think is needed are: critical thinking, emotional control, patient and healthy skepticism, because scammers mostly succeed because they explore human psychology rather than technical weakness. therefore,  greed, trust, fears, urgency and overconfidence are some of the common tools used by scammers.

Your sense of reasoning is preferable because, scammers operates with the strategies of convincing their targets which gives with emotional or psychological manipulations.

It only takes smart thinking and the ability to overcome temptations for one to stay safe from scam. The technicality barriers could be as a result of the victim inability to efficiently operate the wallet without a third party guiding them.

Of course there had been reports about newbies requesting online or third party to guide them navigate through their wallets and then they get scammed on the process, there had also been others who falls victims after being convinced to invest on particular coins through which they invests in the wrong one.

So basically, technical knowledge is less of concern if we must talk about scamming scheme.

[Agathamay]

This thread came about because of the conversation I had with my friends yesterday. At least one of my friends stated that most people get scammed because they don't know much of technical things.

I can partly agree with him, as indeed, not knowing much, or not knowing about technical things can make it easier to be scammed by someone.  However, there are also many cases where technical skilled individuals still fall victim to fraud.

So, if technical knowledge is not enough what else is needed? Imo, what I think is needed are: critical thinking, emotional control, patient and healthy skepticism, because scammers mostly succeed because they explore human psychology rather than technical weakness. therefore,  greed, trust, fears, urgency and overconfidence are some of the common tools used by scammers.

Understanding how wallet works, and how signature and blockchain transactions work is perfectly ok, but it doesn't prevent you from being manipulated. So, feel free to give your 2 cents on this discussion.

Don't be greedy

Thisbis one of the easiest and safest way not to get scammed because over the time, I've come to realize that, one of thr major reason people get scammed is because of greed and in course of trying to get things abnormally, they get scammed and that's why most scam cases are not reported except the money is huge or there about.

Technical knowledge isn't enough to prevent one from being scammed because what I do believe is that, no one is above being scammed as even the president of the united state git scammed despite all the sophisticated technology around him.

Someone who isn't greedy who be very conscious of every activity  they do online and would want to tske extreme caution while dealing with funds most especially online

[sotelorene]

-snip-

So, if technical knowledge is not enough what else is needed? Imo, what I think is needed are: critical thinking, emotional control, patient and healthy skepticism, because scammers mostly succeed because they explore human psychology rather than technical weakness. therefore,  greed, trust, fears, urgency and overconfidence are some of the common tools used by scammers.

Understanding how wallet works, and how signature and blockchain transactions work is perfectly ok, but it doesn't prevent you from being manipulated. So, feel free to give your 2 cents on this discussion.

Social engineering is key for these fraudsters, so even more important than technical knowledge to prevent falling victim of a scam, is to understand how they work. In fact, many scammers lack basic technical skills, all they do is to exploit some weaknesses that most human beings suffer from (greed, fear, fomo...) and by knowing how they work you can maximise your chances of protecting yourself if necessary.

You are absolutely correct and in addiction I think phishing is also another way scammers can use to get to someone especially those of them without any knowledge about this and those who are so scared or frighten whenever they saw something. Scammers sometimes will send a link or message as if they are working with the exchange or wallet you are saving your asset and a typical example of this link or text is " we are trying to protect your wallet from fraudster please kindly follow and click the link to stop them from penetrating" and someone who is always frighten and doesn't have any knowledge will do as they instructed. People ought to be very careful especially newbie.

[hd49728]

Spot on. You can know everything about smart contracts, but if a scammer hacks your emotions, your technical knowledge won't save you.

Even the biggest nerds click stupid links when they're rushed or excited. Technical skills are just the armor, but critical thinking is the weapon.

You even don't know about technical things, smart contracts but won't be scammed if you are careful and only stay cautious with offers that are too good as the advice is staying away from too good to be true offers. Money is not free, not from thin air so how people give you too good to be true offers can have source of money to pay you.

People only need to know this principle to avoid scam.

- Slow down: Urgency is the biggest red flag. If it has to be done right now, it’s a scam

Scammers try to create pressure, make potential victims into urgent situations so that they don't have enough time to calm down and assess the situation, the offer carefully.

- Isolate your risk: Stop connecting your main wallet to every new dApp

It's very good advice, and if possible store your main funds and main wallets in a different device than the on you use for airdrop, explore new things, new projects.

- Use the right gateways: like SwapSpace, Binance or Coinbase for your main operations

Don't fall into phishing sites of big exchanges.

[Mhizlove]

Differentiate between scammers and hackers. These are two different things entirely.

Having technical knowledge can help you avoid hackers, but experience and common knowledge help you avoid scammers.

Regardless, you do not necessarily need to have technical knowledge to avoid both. Just read about scam, malware and hacks, and how to avoid them and be on a forum like this forum will be helpful a lot.

True because one thing is that people do often overlook is that attackers or hackers is not going or targeting technology alone, alot aof times they do target human emotions like fear, curiosity and greed. That's why taking your time before clicking links and staying informed, sending money or downloading files can prevent you from alot of problems. When it comes to security matters, awareness and caution are sometimes equally important as technical knowledge too.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

So, if technical knowledge is not enough what else is needed? Imo, what I think is needed are: critical thinking, emotional control, patient and healthy skepticism, because scammers mostly succeed because they explore human psychology rather than technical weakness. therefore,  greed, trust, fears, urgency and overconfidence are some of the common tools used by scammers.

Understanding how wallet works, and how signature and blockchain transactions work is perfectly ok, but it doesn't prevent you from being manipulated. So, feel free to give your 2 cents on this discussion.

You need to uphold your common sense in any crypto dealing and shun greed, many people are scammed, both those with technical knowledge and those without it, simply because they're greedy and once greed takes over, common sense eludes them and they can easily fall for scam buildups, even weak buildups with obvious red flags.

Even though you have no technical knowledge, know when something sounds too good to be true and be sure to stay away from it, having technical knowledge is a big plus to easily detect scam patterns

[Cookdata]

Just be fully informed and everything you don't understand and your other skills can contribute to you avoiding scammers. Some of these scammers don't even understand some technical things, but they just depend on reading human reactions to certain things and exploit them using their own vulnerabilities. If we are less greedy and don't trust much we can be able to at least limit how much exposed we are to scammers hackers and how to prevent them is where once technical knowledge can help them detect and prevent and not engineering scam

I'm more interested in that "be fully informed". That's how some months ago, someone with a Trezor hard wallet download a fake firmware and lose all his life savings to scammer. This guy understands everything, how to protect coins from internet but because he wasn't informed about downloading fake Trezor software application from App store, he lost all he has bought in the last years of investment, only if he is informed and knows that even App store is full of fake apps.

The same week this multiple hack happened, new sparrow wallet emerge from App store, a mobile application and immediately people reported it because sparrow doesn't have a mobile application, they only have for software application strictly PC. I'm not sure how many people that were affect before they caught it but if you are not informed about these things, you will lose your coins in the dumbest form.

[Itz-prisigold]

Just be fully informed and everything you don't understand and your other skills can contribute to you avoiding scammers. Some of these scammers don't even understand some technical things, but they just depend on reading human reactions to certain things and exploit them using their own vulnerabilities. If we are less greedy and don't trust much we can be able to at least limit how much exposed we are to scammers hackers and how to prevent them is where once technical knowledge can help them detect and prevent and not engineering scam

I will not argue with you on this point that being informed actually play a big role,  but I think another habit that a lot of people easily ignore is knowing when to take things slow and make some verification. A lot of these scammers always succeed in scamming people because they pressure people into making decision in a hurry before they even have time to verify things.

In my opinion, that act of slowing down to double check an offer,  a message or an opportunity is as important as the technical knowledge. Someone might not know all the technical details,  but if he or she takes the time to verify claims or ask questions about anything that sounds too good to be true, it will help him or her avoid most of these common traps. Scammers love when people make hasty decisions,  and if every decision is carefully considered, they lose a lot of the advantage.

[EluguHcman]

Differentiate between scammers and hackers. These are two different things entirely.

Having technical knowledge can help you avoid hackers, but experience and common knowledge help you avoid scammers.

Regardless, you do not necessarily need to have technical knowledge to avoid both. Just read about scam, malware and hacks, and how to avoid them and be on a forum like this forum will be helpful a lot.

True because one thing is that people do often overlook is that attackers or hackers is not going or targeting technology alone, alot aof times they do target human emotions like fear, curiosity and greed. That's why taking your time before clicking links and staying informed, sending money or downloading files can prevent you from alot of problems. When it comes to security matters, awareness and caution are sometimes equally important as technical knowledge too.

That is a very common sense which some people are misinterpreting.
Although technical knowledge may be considered for advanced users who are navigating through the crypto networks in the professional levels and these set of users are more knowledgeable to defeat misconducts on their wallets operations to a higher esteemed but that does not mean they can not be victimized of getting hacked or scammed.

Perhaps basic experiences can optimizes users to defeat these threats which may be ignoring strange links, ignores third party asking for your private informations or downloading random files in your device because those can give third party access to your device or wallet and then steal your funds.

You can also be lured to befall victim and get scammed.