Undue Influence: Cons, Scams and Mind Control

Internet scams, Ponzi schemes, real estate rip-offs, weird cults, fortune-telling cons—it’s hard to read the news without finding another successful con artist at work. As the number of cons and victims grows, the term undue influence is gaining widespread use. Undue Influence: Cons, Scams and Mind Control provides an introduction to the tools and techniques con artists use and the vulnerabilities they look for in victims. Most scammers, including some charismatic psychopaths, have the uncanny ability to adapt common techniques of manipulation and control to the personality of their victim, and given the right circumstances, everyone is susceptible. The information in this book might be your best resource the next time someone makes an offer too good to pass up. “We’ve all wondered about the mysterious forces that compel bright people to follow leaders who are bad for them, or why we ourselves have been fooled. Patrick O’Reilly and Phyllis Rosen offer a sparkling page-turner filled with stories and insights that will leave you smarter than before.” —Nanette Asimov has written about fringe groups as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her work includes coverage of cults and high controlling relationships. “One of the clearest, most accessible, and informative books on social manipulation and undue influence available … a remarkable feat.” —Stephen A. Kent, Ph.D. is professor of sociology at the University of Alberta, a researcher on new and alternative religions, and author of From Slogans to Mantras: Social Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam Era. “… an important text for mental health practitioners when treating clients and patients who have been victimized.” —George Taylor, Ph.D. is professor of Special Education at Coppin State University and author of twenty-three books, including Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Research.