If you're suffering from sleepiness, awakeness, over eating, under eating, or a case of the shaky bones, well then, I fully endorse this brand new miraculous supplement I am in no way affiliated with.

如果你有嗜睡、過度清醒、吃太多、吃太少，或是任何骨質疏鬆的問題，我誠心推薦這款絕無業配，全新的超神奇營養補充品。

Trust me.

相信我。

Why not? Right?

沒有不相信的理由吧？對吧？

If this highly accredited person signs off, it must be trustworthy.

如果這位高成就者都信誓旦旦了，那肯定可以信任。

Sometimes these people are real experts with our collective best interests in mind.

有時這些人是以我們的集體利益為重的真正專家。

But other times, a lab coat is just a prop to gain our trust.

但有些時候，白大衣不過是騙取我們信任的小道具而已。

So what is it about lab coats, and uniforms in general, that might lure us into a trap?

所以究竟白大衣以及各種專業制服可能會如何讓我們步入陷阱之中？

Sanjay is hard at work when an email marked urgent steals his attention.

正當 Sanjay 在認真工作時，一封標記為「急件」的電子郵件吸引了他的注意力。

His stomach drops.

他開始不安。

The IRS claims he owes back taxes and must pay immediately.

國稅局聲稱他欠了稅，並要求他必須立刻清償。

Sanjay flushes and tilts his laptop screen so his coworkers won't see this and think he's irresponsible, or worse a criminal.

Sanjay 羞愧地臉紅起來，並將他的筆電螢幕蓋了起來，好讓同事們不會看到並覺得他不負責任，甚至覺得他是個犯罪者。

Fortunately, the fee is just a few hundred dollars, and he follows the instructions in the email and wires the money from his bank.

幸好，該筆費用只有少少的幾百美元，於是他遵循著電子郵件上的指示，並把錢從銀行帳戶匯了出去。

Relieved, Sanjay takes his lunch break, blushing from this near catastrophe.

總算放下心來的 Sanjay 開始午休，為這場只差一步發生的災難羞愧臉紅。

That was a close one.

這可真是好險。

According to a 2021 study, nearly one in four people find it hard to say no to a request from a stranger because they don't want to be rude.

根據一份 2021 年的研究，有將近四分之一的人因為不想被認為不禮貌，而難以拒絕陌生人的請求。

Fraudsters often pose as polite, respectable figures from reputable places.

詐騙犯通常會裝作自己是個禮貌、來自可靠地點的受尊敬人物。

This gives them a sense of legitimacy that causes the target to lower their guard.

這賦予了他們一種具有正當性的感覺，並讓目標放下戒心。

We want to trust people, and that's what makes scams so effective in conning you out of your money.

我們想要信任別人，而這就是詐騙之所以能夠如此有效地從你的身上騙走錢財的原因。

Trying to trick us into making the easy decision they want us to make.

他們會試圖讓我們做出他們希望我們做出的簡單抉擇。

Whether that easy decision is to be afraid, or the easy decision is to give them money because we'll get greater returns in the long run.

不論那個簡單抉擇是變得害怕，或是因為覺得從更長遠的角度能夠得到更大的回饋而給他們錢。

A study from 2020 showed that when given an instruction, the responsibility we feel for our own actions is lowered.

一份 2020 年的研究顯示當我們被給予指示時，對自己行動感受到的責任感便會降低。

In other words, if someone is telling us to do something, we become more passive.

換句話說，當有人叫我們去做一件事情時，我們便變得更加被動。

But do people just obey any orders given by anyone?

但難道人真的只是會遵從隨便一個人的任何命令嗎？

Does dressing like a professional or sending an email from a professional looking account really make a difference?

穿得像個專業人士，或是從一個看起來很專業的電子郵件地址寄出的電子郵件真的會有差別嗎？

According to a phenomenon known as the lab coat effect, it does.

根據一個名為白大衣效果的現象，確實有所差別。

What the scammers are good about is managing up, sort of what kind of lab coat to what kinds of victim.

詐騙犯很擅長配合受害者的種類，搭配使用不同種類的白大衣。

You know, certain dress, certain political views, they all have done some background research.

例如像是特定的衣服，特定的政治觀點，他們全都做過一定程度的背景調查。

Maria is enjoying a book on a lazy Saturday morning.

在一個慵懶的週六早晨，Maria 正在享受著閱讀時光。

The ring of her doorbell pulls her from her fantasy novel and back into her real life, and her real surroundings.

門鈴將她從幻想小說的世界中拉回現實生活，以及周遭的真實環境。

She heads downstairs, curious who it could be.

她走下樓梯，好奇來訪者是誰。

She opens the door to a man with a work suit, hard hat, and clipboard.

在她開門後，一名身穿工作服，頭戴安全盔，手拿筆記版的男子現身了。

This seems serious.

場面看起來挺正經的。

He's a housing contractor working a job in the area and he noticed some signs of structural damage at her residence.

他是一名在附近區域處理一個案子的房屋承包商，而他察覺到了她的房子有些結構上的損傷。

A new homeowner, Maria's already overwhelmed by the unending stream of upkeep.

才剛入手房子不久，Maria 早已被數量龐雜的維護項目給整得渾身乏術了。

She's relieved to have the keen insight of a professional.

她為還好有專業人士提供敏銳見解而感到安心。

The contractor assures her that all she has to do is pay his reasonable fee now, and he'll get to work tomorrow.

承包商向她保證她現在只需要支付給她一筆合理的費用即可，他明天會再過來開始工作。

Fixing this now means avoiding greater future costs.

現在把這個問題處理掉能避免未來花上更多金錢。

Maria nods, grabs her mobile phone, and sends the payment with a few taps.

Maria 點了點頭，拿出了手機後，點擊了幾下便把費用匯了過去。

Talking to people who seem like an authority can cloud our normal decision-making skills.

與看起來具有權威的人說話會蒙蔽我們平常的決策能力。

Scammers take advantage of this dynamic with many different types of scams, including phishing scams, door to door scams, IRS scams, and utility scams.

詐騙犯會將這種現象利用在各種不同的詐騙上，包括網路釣魚詐騙、上門詐騙、國稅局詐騙，以及水電帳單詐騙。

And it's profitable.

而他們的獲利豐碩。

According to the Federal Trade Commission, they received almost 5,000 complaints of utility scams in 2020, and $3.5 million scammed away.

根據美國聯邦貿易委員會，他們在 2020 年時收到了將近 5,000 次關於水電帳單詐騙的抱怨案件，並有 3500 萬美元被詐騙犯得手。

So if our brains follow authority, how do we bolster our defenses against scammers in sheep's clothing?

所以如果我們的大腦會跟隨著權威的話，我們該如何在面對披著羊皮的詐騙犯時提高自己的保護力呢？

The first thing to do is learn what a scam looks like.

第一件要做的事是認識詐騙手法看起來是什麼樣子。

If they're asking you to pay via gift cards and they want the gift cards to solve a problem, it's probably a scam.

如果他們要求你用禮品卡支付，並且想要藉由禮品卡來解決問題，那可能就是詐騙。

If you are not expecting contact from the utility company, then hang up the phone, don't respond to the email.

如果你並沒有在等自來水電公司回電，那就掛上電話，不要回應電子郵件。

Actually contact the company directly through a known good phone number.

直接取得正確的電話號碼聯絡該公司。

Look it up on your bill.

在帳單上找找看吧。

At the end of the day, we are all subject to the lab coat effect.

到頭來，我們都會受到白大衣效果的影響。

But by taking a moment to slow down and verify the information, we can better protect ourselves against this type of scam.

但是只要能多花幾秒鐘慢下來並查證資訊是否正確，我們便能在面對這種詐騙時更好地保護自己。

And most importantly, Zelle would like to remind you to only send money to those you know and trust.

而最重要的是，Zelle 想要提醒你：只給自己熟知且信任的人匯款。