Even the sharpest minds can be fooled — not because we are careless, but because con artists know how to pull the emotional levers that make us human. In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael explores how scams old and new trick us into lowering our guard, from the classic infomercials that promised six-packs in six weeks to today’s deepfakes that use familiar faces and voices to convince us to click. You’ll hear why trust can become a trap, how urgency, flattery, and hope can override logic, and why emotional intelligence is one of our best tools to pause, reflect, and verify before we act. This is the sixtieth episode of Mind the Gap, and after this one, we’re taking a short break to practice what we preach. If you miss us while we’re away, now is a great time to revisit earlier episodes — or dive into the Mind the Gap book, available in paperback, hardback, and ebook here.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

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