Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
☝️ Think you're too smart to fall for a scam? Think again. Scammers aren't targeting your intelligence; they're targeting your humanity. I'll share the sneaky mind tricks they use every day and help you spot the red flags before it's too late.
☝️ Social engineering playbook
Scammers are experts at messing with your mind. They use fake urgency, pretending to be someone important, or scaring you to get you to act fast. When something feels off, slow down! Hang up if you must. The more red flags you spot, the more likely it’s a scam.
Updates, related links, and more discussion: askleo.com/190031
🔔 Subscribe to the Ask Leo! YouTube channel for more tech videos & answers: go.askleo.com/ytsub
✅ Watch next ▶ All the “Ishings” Trying to Scam You ▶ youtu.be/nSVObfmD2Ko
Chapters
0:00 How Scammers Hack Your Brain
0:48 Social engineering
1:29 Mental shortcuts
3:01 Manipulation techniques
8:15 Additional signs
9:15 Constructing a scam
10:12 A scam by any other name would smell as bad…
10:53 Take a beat, not a beating
12:33 The red flag checklist
❤️ My best articles: go.askleo.com/best
❤️ My Most Important Article: go.askleo.com/number1
More Ask Leo!
☑️ askleo.com to get your questions answered
☑️ newsletter.askleo.com to subscribe to the Confident Computing newsletter.
☑️ askleo.com/patron to help support Ask Leo!
☑️ askleo.com/all-the-different-ways-to-get-ask-leo for even more!
#askleo #scam #socialengineering
☝️ Think you're too smart to fall for a scam? Think again. Scammers aren't targeting your intelligence; they're targeting your humanity. I'll share the sneaky mind tricks they use every day and help you spot the red flags before it's too late.
☝️ Social engineering playbook
Scammers are experts at messing with your mind. They use fake urgency, pretending to be someone important, or scaring you to get you to act fast. When something feels off, slow down! Hang up if you must. The more red flags you spot, the more likely it’s a scam.
Updates, related links, and more discussion: askleo.com/190031
🔔 Subscribe to the Ask Leo! YouTube channel for more tech videos & answers: go.askleo.com/ytsub
✅ Watch next ▶ All the “Ishings” Trying to Scam You ▶ youtu.be/nSVObfmD2Ko
Chapters
0:00 How Scammers Hack Your Brain
0:48 Social engineering
1:29 Mental shortcuts
3:01 Manipulation techniques
8:15 Additional signs
9:15 Constructing a scam
10:12 A scam by any other name would smell as bad…
10:53 Take a beat, not a beating
12:33 The red flag checklist
❤️ My best articles: go.askleo.com/best
❤️ My Most Important Article: go.askleo.com/number1
More Ask Leo!
☑️ askleo.com to get your questions answered
☑️ newsletter.askleo.com to subscribe to the Confident Computing newsletter.
☑️ askleo.com/patron to help support Ask Leo!
☑️ askleo.com/all-the-different-ways-to-get-ask-leo for even more!
#askleo #scam #socialengineering
