New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- The fear of being scammed is a primal emotion, as fundamental as the need for love, uniting humans across time and borders. It's why we step back when someone we let into our lives becomes a little too familiar a little too quickly. It's why we are sceptical of emails from unknown senders. And it is why we are distrustful when a stranger calls. It is why we are silent when we don't know who is on the other end of the line. Yet, we may still find ourselves blindsided. Despite our caution, we may have run into a professional: Someone who has been trained to trick us, someone selected for their ability to win our trust, someone paid to deceive.

Any of us may encounter a scammer. More and more of us will. We know what t...