By Phil Weiss, CFA, CPA, RLP®, and Robert Siciliano, CSP, CSI, CITRMS
Scammers do not always need to defeat a bank’s technology. Sometimes they need only to persuade someone to act before verifying a request.
Also called digital fraud risk, that risk can become harder to manage during major life transitions such as divorce, widowhood, or retirement, when other issues may already be competing for your attention. AI voice cloning, impersonation, relationship-based investment scams, and manufactured urgency can make familiar fraud tactics harder to recognize.
Robert uses the term Human Blindspot™ to describe how trust, focused attention, and emotional pressure can narrow what we notice. It is not a reflection of intelligence. When something captures our attention or creates a strong emotional response, we may focus so narrowly on the immediate problem that we miss other warning signs.
In many scams, the technology itself is not at fault. Instead, someone is persuaded to send money, reveal information, or approve what seems like a legitimate request.
Four habits to remember | |
| 1. Recognize | Urgency and secrecy are reasons to slow down. |
| 2. Verify | Confirm unexpected requests through an independent channel. |
| 3. Strengthen | Use a credit freeze, unique passwords, and multi-factor authentication where appropriate. |
| 4. Involve | Bring someone else into the conversation before sending money when something feels unusual. |
Prefer to watch? Robert and I explored these ideas in our recent cybersecurity event, Protecting Your Wealth in the Age of AI: Practical Strategies Against Digital Fraud.
1. Recognize Your Human Blindspot™
The Human Blindspot™ is not about intelligence. Scammers can succeed by focusing your attention on one urgent problem while making it harder to notice what else may be happening.
Watch for situations that create a strong emotional response or pressure you to act quickly. An unexpected account problem, a family emergency, an investment opportunity, or a familiar-sounding voice can all narrow your attention.
Urgency itself can be a warning sign. If someone wants money, sensitive information, or immediate action, slow the process down before responding.
Secrecy is another warning sign. Be especially cautious if someone tells you not to discuss a request, relationship, or transaction with anyone else.
2. Use Robert’s Triple-A Protocol: Analyze, Authenticate, Act
- Analyze: Be on the lookout for unexpected urgency, changed instructions, unusual requests, demands for secrecy, or pressure to act immediately.
- Authenticate: Independently verify who is making the request. Do not rely on the phone number, email address, link, or contact information contained in the unexpected communication. Even if it looks right, it might not be. Instead, use contact information you already know or obtain from a trusted source.
- Act: Decide what to do only after you have verified it. If you cannot authenticate the request, stop and seek another perspective before proceeding.
Consider a Family Verification PlanAI voice cloning can make an emergency call sound frighteningly familiar. Consider establishing a family password, code word, or another verification method in advance. Treat it as an additional check rather than your only one. If someone claims a family member is in trouble, independently contact that family member or another trusted relative using a number you already know. |
A Real-Life Example: Stop Before You SendShortly after the event, we were considering adopting another dog. I found one advertised on Facebook in an area I was already planning to visit. The timing made the opportunity feel unusually convenient. (I had not previously shared my plans to visit that area.) It was easy to assume the listing was real. Before I could see the dog, however, the seller asked me to send a deposit through Zelle. That was my signal to slow down. Zelle is intended for payments to people and businesses you know and trust, and it does not offer purchase protection. I was not comfortable sending money to someone I did not know before seeing the dog. When the seller would not agree to another arrangement, I ended the conversation and reported the listing as suspicious. A later search also found the same dog photo on an unrelated foreign-language Instagram account. That did not prove fraud by itself, but it reinforced my decision not to send money. I already knew to be cautious about this type of payment. But Robert’s framework gave me a useful way to think through what was happening: analyze, authenticate, then act. |
3. Strengthen the Accounts That Matter Most
- Consider Freezing Your Credit. A credit freeze is free to place and lift and can make it harder for someone to open new credit in your name. To place a freeze, go to the websites of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Installing their apps on your phone can make it even easier. You can temporarily lift the freeze when you legitimately need someone to access your credit report.
- Use unique passwords. Avoid reusing passwords across accounts. A reputable password manager can help you create and store unique credentials without having to remember them all yourself.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication. Enable MFA on your primary email, financial accounts, and other sensitive services. Where available, consider stronger authentication methods such as an authenticator app or passkey.
| A practical example: I recently applied for a store credit card while my credit was frozen. I asked which credit bureau the retailer planned to use, temporarily lifted the freeze from my phone, and restored it afterward. My password manager made accessing the account easier. For me, the small inconvenience of maintaining the freeze is worth the added protection. |
4. Break the Secrecy Loop
Some scams develop over minutes. Others develop over weeks or months.
Relationship-investment scams may begin with an unexpected text, social-media connection, or online relationship. The scammer gradually builds trust before introducing an investment or financial opportunity. The websites, account balances, and supposed profits may look convincing.
One practical defense is surprisingly simple: share the conversation with someone you trust before sending money.
If someone you have met online asks for money, suggests an investment, pressures you to move funds, or discourages you from discussing the situation with family, friends, or financial professionals, stop. An outside perspective may notice what’s hard to see when you are emotionally involved.
Relationship-investment schemes, sometimes called “pig butchering” scams, may start with an unexpected text, a social media connection, or an online relationship.
If You Think You’ve Been Scammed, Act QuicklyEven careful people can respond to a convincing message or realize only afterward that something was wrong. If money has moved, contact the financial institution or payment provider immediately. If login credentials may have been compromised, change them and secure the affected accounts. Do not let embarrassment delay your response. You can report suspected fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and cyber-enabled fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Prompt reporting may also improve the chances that financial institutions or law enforcement can respond. |
Preparation Makes a Difference
Digital fraud will continue to evolve. The goal is not to recognize every new technology or eliminate every possible risk.
Instead, build habits that help you recognize when a request feels unusually urgent, verify unexpected requests independently, involve someone else when secrecy or money is involved, and act quickly if something goes wrong.
Technology can help. So can a credit freeze, multi-factor authentication, and unique passwords. But some of the most important ways to protect yourself remain behavioral: slow down, ask another question, and remember it’s okay to pause instead of acting immediately.
Robert calls that building your Strategic Human Firewall™.
Watch the Full Discussion
Robert and I explored these ideas and more in our recent event, Protecting Your Wealth in the Age of AI: Practical Strategies Against Digital Fraud.
Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/oSl365pzGwY
Related Reading
- Protecting Your Wealth From AI Scams: 4 Practical Ways to Reduce Digital Fraud Risk
- Designating Trusted Contacts and Naming Beneficiaries
About the Authors
Phil Weiss, CFA, CPA, RLP®
Phil is the founder of Apprise Wealth Management, an independent Registered Investment Adviser serving women navigating major life transitions. He combines life planning, investment management, and Tax-Aware financial planning to help clients align their financial resources with what matters most to them.
Robert Siciliano, CSP, CSI, CITRMS
Robert is a cybersecurity expert, author, speaker, and creator of the Strategic Human Firewall™. For more than 30 years, he has educated individuals and organizations about fraud prevention, identity theft, personal security, and cybersecurity.
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For firm disclosures, see Apprise Wealth Management disclosures.
Phil Weiss founded Apprise Wealth Management to help women facing new beginnings understand their financial lives, make thoughtful decisions, and use their money in ways that support what matters most to them.
