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Why People Are Falling For Fake Gurus Online?

By admin On March 6, 2022
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No one is impervious to scams but some people are more vulnerable than others. Even the smart ones can become victims of con artists and fake gurus. It’s not because they’ve suddenly become stupid, but it’s because scammers know who to target and they use psychology, technology, and opportunity to run their scams. Fake gurus on YouTube and Instagram know how to manipulate their targets by employing psychological techniques. It helps their con tremendously if they are charismatic and innately fascinating. The combination of cunning and magnetic personality is hard to resist especially when the scam is hidden under the guise of authority and legitimacy.If you’re wondering why people are falling for scams created by fake gurus online, it’s because of the following reasons: 1. Reciprocity As the famous saying goes, “If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”Fake gurus know how to use the principle of reciprocity in their scams. By offering you an opportunity to invest in their exclusive product, you feel obligated to return the favor.For example, if a fake guru offers you an invitation to his Mastermind course, which by the way, is only offered to the elite members, you feel special for being one of the chosen few. This creates a feeling of gratitude and a sense of indebtedness that compels you to make an unwise decision or action. You either sign up for the bogus product or continue listening to the repetitive sales pitches. 2. The Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) People don’t want to be out of the loop. There’s always the desire to be in the thick of things and want to be part of the next big thing. Fake gurus know this all too well so they create an opportunity to exploit this.This is the reason why they offer products and courses for a limited time only. People will start to worry that they could miss out on an opportunity if they don’t signup for the course or buy the product.What’s happening here is that people feel threatened because something that could make a difference in their lives may be lost forever. They react out of fear because they don’t want to be that guy who let an opportunity passed him by. They feel that if they don’t grab the opportunity now, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.Such is a strong feeling that people could not handle so instead of running away from the scam, they fall for it. 3. Bandwagon Effect The bandwagon effect is a phenomenon whereby people buy into the idea or belief because it had already been adopted by others. This is particularly true in sports and politics, but it is being used and abused by fake gurus to draw more people into their scams.In the realm of sales and marketing, a marketer generally makes a sales pitch and would add a little piece of information that would tend to sway potential customers or people still on the fence about the product. The marketer would claim that a certain percentage (say, 80%) of people have already signed up for the course. Dubious as it may sound, it still gives a little bit of weight to the sales pitch.While there’s nothing wrong with mentioning some stats, it’s different when fake gurus do it. They manufacture their bandwagon effect. They’ll handpick people from their inner circle or loyal following and then they’ll dedicate all their time in coaching those people and turn them into golden students. Then, these golden students will become evangelists for the fake gurus to draw more people in.Oftentimes, they just straight-up lie about the number of people who have signed up to their courses; more so on the success of the students. The perceived high success rate is enough to lure more people. 4. Solutions to problems Fake gurus are bombarding you with ads and showing you their success stories. They talk about how their product has changed people’s lives for the better. They create a narrative that is similar to your experience so that the message they send would resonate with you.If you are struggling in life, success stories can be inspirational and motivational. Fake gurus are selling you a solution to your problem and if you are nearly at the end of your rope, you’d try anything. This is where the scam gets its legs. Fakegurus will convince you that even with little to no experience, you can be successful just by following the exact same steps that they did. By following their secret method, you’re on your way to becoming a millionaire. It was music to your earthen, but it sounds stupid now. 5. Small commitments Fake gurus don’t come on strong at the beginning of their scam. They do subtle sales pitches first to get you to commit to small things like signing up for the mailing list or answering a survey or sharing a post. These small things can escalate fast. The next thing you know, you’re attending their webinars, watching their live streams, and paying for exclusive content. They are getting you to commit to seemingly trivial things in preparation for the high-ticket items down the road.While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to learn, it’s important to remember that the courses being peddled by fake gurus are straight-up scams. Sure, they’ll put some effort into creating a course outline to give you a roadmap to success, but in reality, the content is outdated, simplistic, and does not add new knowledge.They are nowhere near what fake gurus claim them to be. If anything, they are largely introductory courses that can easily be found on YouTube for free. But since you want more, they will keep offering new courses and keep finding ways for you to commit.Fake gurus are taking advantage of people’s nature and tendencies. They are using psychological ploys to persuade people to act in ways that are against their best interests. By having the awareness and understanding of how fake gurus set up their scams, you are putting yourself in a better position to resist them.