Then came a red flag: “Natalie” asked him if he’d buy some gift cards for a few of their clients. “We don’t compensate clients with gift cards,” says Bednowitz, who ended the communication. “The scam is simple,” he says. “It works because it borrows authority from someone you already trust and pairs it with urgency so you don’t have time to think.”

That’s precisely what scammers want—to ramp up your emotions, which short-circuits your rational thinking, says Marti DeLiema, an expert in the psychology of fraud at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. “The whole goal is to get people to process the information really superficially instead of deeply thinking,” she explains.

It’s all about hijacking your amygdala, an almond-shaped structure inside your brain that helps process external stimuli and trigger an emotional response. When the amygdala gets flooded, it can override the part of the brain used for critical thinking (the frontal cortex), which “might otherwise recognize that something isn’t right,” says Christine Kieffer, president of FINRA Investor Education Foundation, a nonprofit that offers tools and information for avoiding fraud. Instead, she adds, “our natural fight-flight-freeze instincts kick in, suspending rational judgment and leading us to act on impulse.”

Scammers trying to rush you will often tell you to keep their interaction with you a secret. There’s a reason: If you involve someone who isn’t agitated, that person will be better able to see the situation objectively and calmly. As DeLiema puts it, “Emotion plus isolation equals manipulative control.”

Here are five emotional states scammers exploit—and why they can be so effective.

With romance scams, criminals take advantage of our desire for connection and affection. Another tactic is faking a commonality to justify their initial contact “You’re a cancer survivor? So am I. I know what you’re going through.” Or “You’re a Vince Gill fan? Me too!” Then they “love-bomb” their target with effusive sweet nothings before asking for money, and they will withhold affection if the person isn’t cooperating.

Why it works: Lavishing someone with affection, then pulling away, makes the victim want to earn that love back. “They’ll say, ‘If you can’t do this, you don’t really love me,’ ” says DeLiema.

The criminal will typically propose a sure-bet investment; they might say they have a friend or an uncle who made big bucks. Once you invest, they’ll create the illusion that you’re profiting, through fake online platforms. The scammer makes the payoff feel close—if the victim will just send money first.

Why it works: “They create this fantasy life,” says DeLiema. “To get there, you have to spend money, but they lie and say it’s all going to come back to you threefold.” 

With the grandparent scam, you’ll get a call from your supposed grandson, claiming he’s somehow ended up in prison. He needs bail money, and fast. They might sound convincingly like your real grandkid, with the help of AI voice cloning. Another insidious scam involves criminals targeting people who post lost-pet notices online. The scammer will say they have your pet but it’s injured and needs treatment. They might even send AI-doctored photos of your pet in surgery.

Why it works: Criminals are likely well aware that this is going to spark “an emotion-driven reaction” that works in their favor, notes Kieffer. You also may think, Nobody could be so awful they’d extort money from a panicked pet parent. But scammers are that awful.

Some scams are about creating a state of high anxiety: Your bank account has been compromised, and you need to secure your finances immediately. Or you didn’t show up to jury duty, so you have a court date the next day unless you pay a fine.

Why it works: “The criminal is trying to make the target move as quickly as possible and transfer as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time,” says DeLiema. The urgency makes you feel so anxious, you may act before stopping to verify the claim.

The criminals behind investment scams will often flatter their victims, suggesting that they are so savvy, they’ll know a good deal when they see it, says Amy Nofziger, senior director of fraud victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network. “They’ll say things like, ‘We’re only making this available because you’re going to understand it.’ ”

Why it works: Nofziger says retirees who miss the sense of purpose, compliments and high-stakes decisions from their working days are vulnerable targets. “The criminals will come in and give you that purpose.”