What’s in a Scam: Separating Fact from Feeling

Have you ever been a victim of a scam or rip-off? Do you hear about friends who’ve had their computer infected with a virus or malware? Or have you ever paid for a service you thought you were getting, only to receive half as much?

If any of this sounds familiar, then you’re probably aware of the sad truth that the world is rife with people who make it their mission to take advantage of others for their own benefit.

Compounding the fact is that while we know we don’t want to be scammed, we’re a trusting bunch. Most of us are pretty honest too – making it doubly hard to spot a scam when we encounter one.

So what does a scam look like? First of all, the old saying, “if it looks too good to be true it probably is,” continues to hold a lot of weight.

Whether a scam happens online or in the real world, there are three things that typically characterize one:

• An unsuspecting victim
• Believability
• One-way profit

But as we look at a few examples below, let’s keep this in mind: just because we have a poor experience with a company doesn’t mean we’ve been scammed or ripped off.

Let’s start by looking at a negative experience that is not a scam.

Surviving Dental Bliss

I went to a new dentist for the first time a while back, and I’ve got to say it was like pulling teeth – err, no pun intended of course.

So I go in for a “new patient” exam and teeth cleaning. About 37 minutes and an eternity after the x-rays, the office manager comes waltzing in, “Great to meet you. The doctor will be with you in a few minutes. But I thought we’d go over some of the findings of your x-rays.”

Basically, the two cavities I thought I had, turned into a root canal, 2 porcelain crowns, a laser teeth whitening procedure, and a resetting of a previous cavity fill that I didn’t even know was bothering me.

Well, one $3600 estimate later, and I was left lying in a chair wondering what planet I had landed on. Just as I began to come to my senses, the dentist walks in. He goes into a spiel about what the “prognosis” all means. He then continues to sends my fears even higher by very professionally explaining that I’ll be all gums in exactly 32 months if I don’t get everything done by next week. Of course I’m over-exaggerating, but you get the picture. Oh, and to top it all off, I’m offered 12-months interest-free financing for my convenience.

Here’s my conclusion: the “office manager” is a salesman and the “dentist” is the closer.

Needless to say, I felt like I was being taken for a ride. So I mentioned that I’d like to garner a second opinion, and he answers with, “My schedule is wide open next week. When would you like to make an appointment?”

Now, is this a scam? I don’t think so. Will all of those procedures be good for my pursuit of movie star quality pearly whites? Absolutely. But is it what I need and a good way to start a relationship? Probably not. And it most certainly didn’t help to build my trust of this particular dentist.

Don’t Click the “Get Help Now Ad” – Even if You Need It

My father-in-law recently had a technician pay a visit to his home to repair his computer. Unfortunately, the computer was infected with Malware – a program that is installed on computers and collects information about users without their knowledge.

So how did he get it? While browsing the Web, a pop-up advertisement appeared one day with a message convincing him to purchase their product in order to rid his computer of all its viruses and other harmful programs.

Little did he know that the pop up window was the entry point for an actual virus. One click, and the computer was infected.

What did we say the characteristics of a scam were? An unsuspecting victim, believability, and one-way profit.

My father-in-law was definitely scammed

When it Comes to Auto Repair, Compare Apples-to-Apples

Most auto-mechanics are hard working people just trying to make a living. But, there seems to be a social conscience built around the fact that you need to find one you can trust or you might get swindled.

Here’s an old scam that some auto mechanic shops use – low-balling phone estimates. You call for a quote on a new radiator. The shop provides a reasonable price over the competition, so you decide to go with them. But when you get to the point of sign off on the work order, the price is much higher. The person you originally spoke with did not included new fluid, a radiator cap, or taxes in the costs – something the previous shop did.

So why does this scenario represent a scam: You weren’t expecting it, the quote was believable, and the only beneficiary beyond original expectations is the repair shop – you get no added value.

Avoiding a Scam

It’s important to separate fact from feeling. Just because I feel devalued, doesn’t necessarily mean I was scammed. My trip to the dentist, for instance, while not exactly a fun experience or model of stellar customer service, was not a scam.

Here’s What You Can do to Avoid a Scam

1. Ask plenty of questions
2. Have reasonable expectations
3. If you smell fire, run

How Businesses Can Help Themselves

The number one thing a company can do is provide an excellent customer experience by over-delivering on the customer’s expectations. Think of any possible scenario that would affect your customer’s experience and combat it by providing services that address the issues. At the very least, you should make it known to your customer how the performance of your product or service could be impacted by outside variables before you make the sale. Providing your customer free insight breeds trust. And trust breeds loyalty.