Learning these twelve tell-tale signs of a deceptive person will help to prevent the some of the trappings. Avoid anyone who consistently blames others for their life circumstances. If a person has a long list of such people, it usually because they refuse to accept responsibility for their contribution to whatever damage occurred. The last and best method of detecting a devious person is to look at the trail of victims or scapegoats left in their wake. Of course, they do all this indirectly so they can later claim deniability should the person of power lose their position. This is because the schemer openly yields to their superior, flatters them, and even plays the victim so the influential person has cause to help them. Others may have seen it and even correctly identified it but the person in power will not. It is difficult for a person in a position of power over a deceiver to see the deception. It is also an effective method for concealing ulterior motives. This allows the deceiver time to better assess their prey and gather information before attacking. To keep their prey from realizing just how smart or clever they are, a deceptive person will fake their dumbness. This forces anyone who might be onto them to spend ridiculous amounts of time and energy trying to guess their unpredictable behavior. On a smaller scale, a devious person frequently changes their patterns and habits to keep others guessing. One of the effective tools of terrorism is the absence of predictability. Sometimes, they even go to the length of creating a crisis just to drive this point home. Then they will reappear, just in time, to save the day and thus reestablish their value and worth.

This is done to highlight the want of them to the point of desperation. A scheming person will time their disappearing act just in a moment that they are most needed. After revealing their vulnerabilities, the prey often finds that the information is shared to their detriment. Benign questions timed inappropriately are designed to catch a person off guard and encourage an honest response. Another tactic used by a dishonest person is to appear friendly while secretly gathering valuable information about a persons weaknesses. They can kill two birds with one stone by later using this dirty to form a deeper unholy commitment or use it against the prey when needed. A common tactic of deception is to discover some advantage to the prey for this allegiance. Most disingenuous people form multiple alliances in case they are needed in the future. This simple gesture breaks down the guard of the prey while simultaneously making them feel indebted to the deceiver. A quick way to disarm a person is to give them a surprise gift for no reason. This process fosters more independence for the wrong party and more dependence on them for the prey. One of the ways to keep a person dependent is to teach a small amount of information but withhold valuable knowledge so they will fail without the schemer. By avoiding the confrontation alone and having a companion along to listen, this can be evaded. Then, the issue is tossed aside as the deceiver attacks on an entirely different, unexpected front. This forces the other person to come to the deceiver and address the issue.

The easiest sleight of hand is to create an irresistible proposal or unnecessary drama. If it seems like someone needs to have their hand in everyones assignments, it is because they are looking for opportunities to take advantage of others. They gather information, projects, and insights from others and place their name at the top of the list. This deceptive person takes credit for the work of others. In this manner, they successfully conceal their own true intentions of deceit while endearing their prey to come closer. This is a way of learning their preys intentions and then adopting it as their own. Be leery of someone who encourages others to share first all the time. What does that look like? Here are some clues:

Im in danger