Remember that not all people who lie are dangerous, but all dangerous people lie!

 When you spot lies you should think of it as an early warning signal. It tells you trouble is brewing, because the person is trying to deceive you. For most people, even experienced criminals, lying can be uncomfortable or difficult, so they will often tell a partial truth. They’d rather lie by omission, not commission. Nonetheless, there are liars who can look you straight in the face and deceive you.

 Here’s an example of what may very well indicate a lie. A few years ago, there were rumors circulating that a famous singer and her husband were using illegal drugs. When she was asked by a reporter if it was true, she got angry and said, “I am not a drug addict. If I were an addict, it would adversely affect my performance on stage. Therefore, as you can see, I am not a drug addict.”

 The point here is that she was not accused of being a drug addict, only of the occasional recreational use of an illegal substance. She got angry, over-reacted and did not answer the real question.

 In logic, this is called the Fallacy of Diversion — and it works quite well. The person does not answer the question, but tries to divert your attention to some place else and answer a different question. Like it or not, we live in a world of deception. Like it or not, at times you’re going to be lied to, and that can cause you to part with your money for a fake piece of art.

Something else to look for, watch out for those who use “aliases.” If they are trying to hide their true identity there is a reason. And, that reason is usually not good for you. Investigate to see if that same person has a history of similar scams indifferent locations. Actually, if you see he has a history of every few years moving from state to state, or country to country, the first question you should be thinking is: Why?

 Another scam, now making the rounds, is for an art gallery to take apiece of art (fake or real) and sell it to a customer as an investment. The agreement is to keep the piece on display, and sell it to another investor. This is almost a Ponzi scheme.

 Because most people have heard that Ponzi schemes exist, but don’t know exactly what they are, here is a short explanation.

 The Ponzi Scheme is named after Carlo Ponzi. A Ponzi scheme is an investment scheme in which returns are paid to earlier investors, entirely out of money paid into the scheme by newer investors.

 The key point of the scheme is that the company that is collecting money from new participants and using this money to pay off promised returns to earlier participants.

 During the years 1919 and 1920, Ponzi said that an international postal coupon could be purchased in Spain for one cent in US, money, and he was able to get six U.S. one-cent stamps with that coupon. Do the math: Buy $100 worth of international postal coupons in Spain

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