When Apple Cider Vinegar first premiered on Netflix, many people praised the stellar acting about a scamming wellness influencer’s fall from grace. I was angry, disgusted and absolutely hooked within the first few minutes.
Having recently lost my father to cancer, I couldn’t believe that anyone would be monstrous enough to fake a brain tumor. Even more shocking was how many people she conned—quickly becoming a social media influencer and building a wellness empire based on her lie of curing multiple cancers with diets and alternative medicine therapies.
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I had to remind myself to calm down and that it’s just TV. And then I remembered it was not: Apple Cider Vinegar is based on a lie by the real-life Australian scammer Belle Gibson, a sociopath who took advantage of sick people desperate for hope and a cure.
It took several years for Gibson’s scheme to unravel. She successfully duped hundreds of thousands of followers, along with Australian media and book publishing giants. The tactics Gibson used to make herself so believable are typical of other con artists such as Anna Delvey and Amanda Riley, the latter of whom also faked cancer. These scammers used psychological tactics to build a false sense of security and trust.
It can be hard to catch a liar—let alone a professional liar. Below, psychologists break down how con artists manipulate others and how to see through the deception.
Related: Avoid Falling for This One Narcissistic Manipulation Tactic
Con artists often prey on people’s emotions. They are adept at identifying their target’s pain points, such as financial difficulty or loneliness, and exploiting them to foster a fake intimacy, says Dr. Leslie Sanders, PsyD., a clinical psychologist and program director for the AToN Center.
These master manipulators then tug at your heartstrings with anecdotal stories that try to mix as much truth into the lie so it’s more convincing. Even when stories don’t add up, scammers have the confidence to make you believe that you’re the one who misunderstood them, says Dr. Logan Jones, PsyD., a clinical psychologist at Clarity Therapy NYC.
“By reflecting the target’s feelings, emotions, or actions, the con artist is able to establish trust at an astounding pace that feigns authenticity,” adds Sanders. “A relationship like this can easily shatter a target's barriers, making them much more inclined to deception.”
Related: 6 Ways To Tell if Someone’s Lying, According to Former CIA Officers
Scammers like to instill a sense of urgency or loss surrounding a stressful situation. When anxiety or fear peaks, the emotional distress has people making less rational decisions.
“This approach is meant to scare individuals into acting impulsively and agreeing to or signing up for things based on emotional dysregulation that keeps people from thinking clearly,” explains Lauren Freymuth, LPC, a licensed therapist with Mindpath Health.
These include chaotic and complicated scenarios that trigger people to react emotionally. Then, the con artist swoops in as a savior, offering exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and overpromising positive results for what they’re selling.
Gibson herself preyed on people’s fears of cancer to promote her cookbook and recipe app. Even when a product doesn’t work, Freymuth says scammers rely on the sunk cost fallacy—the tendency for people to continue investing in an unsuccessful endeavor because they have already spent so much time and money on it.
Related: 10 Early Signs of Emotional Manipulation, According to Psychologists
One reason Gibson gained popularity among her followers is that she spoke extensively about her so-called journey, resonating with people facing the physical and emotional fallout of cancer. Sanders says scammers like Gibson routinely cast themselves similar to their victims to appear more relatable. Their mimicry of shared interests, values or experiences lulls the victim into feeling instant trust and connection.
Not only did Gibson pose as a cancer survivor, but she also held a position of authority by claiming she defied all medical odds and used natural methods to cure herself. Scammers like to appear grandiose and tend to exaggerate their accomplishments, adds Jones. By making herself out to be an expert on cancer treatments, Gibson boosted her credibility and made it easier to create loyalty and trust with her warm and charismatic social media posts.
Related: 8 Phrases to Disarm Manipulative People, Psychologists Explain
Reciprocity
Con artists like to set psychological traps to encase victims in their web of lies. This can be as small as doing the smallest of favors or offering a small token so that someone feels the need to repay them in the future. Those small acts of kindness add up and when it’s time to collect on the favor, Sanders says the victim will be more likely to accept out of a sense of obligation even when it’s not in their best interests.
Related: 6 Common Phrases Used By Romance Scammers
How to Avoid Falling for Scammers and Con Artists' Schemes
The most dangerous scammers and con artists are the ones good at lying and making you doubt yourself. “Manipulation happens when they try to convince you to override your intuition. The moment you feel that happening is the moment to take pause and step back,” says Jones.
Freymuth warns to avoid taking the first deal offered, especially in a stressful situation where you’re in an emotionally heightened headspace. If you’re making an important decision, sleep on it or take a walk to think about it logically. Ask yourself if whatever the person is peddling is too good to be true and what’s the catch. Jones adds that pausing for meditation allows you to connect with your intuition and logically identify inconsistencies from the scammer.
“They may try to persuade, pressure, guilt-trip or even threaten you, but remember that you don’t owe them anything,” Freymuth advises.
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Sources:
Dr. Leslie Sanders, PsyD.Dr. Logan Jones, PsyD.Lauren Freymuth, LPC Read More Details
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