Why do experienced, seemingly world-wise business people fall prey to Ponzi schemes and other scams? Perhaps because con artists are usually nothing like the slimy operators often presented in media.

In his recent article for Forbes, media attorney and BigSpeak’s EVP Ken Sterling looks back on his time as a teen living under a schemer’s roof and what it taught him about identifying and avoiding con artists who might otherwise fly under the scam radar.

As a youth, Sterling spent some time living with a wealthy family who lived on a huge gated estate with a tennis court, grotto and waterfall. The head of this family, “Eric,”  later exposed as a prominent fraudster, was by all appearances an above-the-board success and lovely person who had a real way with people– and, as it turned out, separating them from their money. 

It is because of the outward appearance of legitimacy that such a man made for a successful scammer, with his visible show of wealth and influence acting as props. Eric would court marks against the background of his estate, with appearances from other wealthy and respected figures posing as potential investors to add credulity to a deal.

Sterling warns that such stage setting is not proof of true financial success or the validity of an offer, and that it’s vital to dig deeper even when on the surface things seem ideal. He stresses that potential investors need to seek concrete information on financials and other investors, recommending that they independently validate the business model and confirm references from investors who aren’t hand-picked to promote the deal. Due diligence is the greatest protection a person can have against offers that seem too good to be true.