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What are some of the telltale signs that you are dealing with a pathological liar or a con artist?
See also: What are some of the telltale signs that you are dealing with a pathological liar or a con artist?
societyunderstand
I'm sorry, but it's true.
There literally are no telltale signs of a manipulator or fake person.
Seriously though, the "signs" you see plastered on the internet which include guilt trips, trick questions, and compulsive lying, are the signs of narcissistic people? Is everyone manipulative you know, narcissistic?
Explanation
You cannot tell whether someone is genuine by their actions, but only by their lack of actions. You have to look for the negatives as in the absence of something, rather than the positive where something is present.
For example:
A person who isn't genuine doesn't want you to do something harmless that you really want to do.
If the person tells you not to do the harmless thing that you really want to do, then that person isn't genuine. They are acting for your intentions and not for you.
If the person doesn't mind or encourages you to do the thing you desired, then that doesn't necessarily prove that they are genuine.
This is why you can never know!
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This is why you can only look for the absense of something, the negative, rather than the positive.
You can know the intentions for why someone does something, but you can never know their reasons.
If I say something sarcastic to you, you know my intention, to be snide and flippant, because you feel the effect, but you won't know my reasons for why I would do such a thing. I can advance that example for if I insulted you. You have my intention to offend you, but you don't know why I would do that and what my ulterior motives are, my reasons.
For example
You can know that someone does X because they're jealous of you, but not typically know why they are jealous.
You can know that someone approaches you to be your friend, but not typically know why they want to be your friend.
You can know that someone does X because they're shy or scared, but not typically know why they are shy or scared.
You can know that someone behaves in a happier state like X when they're with you, but not know why they do so.
You get the idea. Etc etc.
You can know the intentions for why someone does something, but you can never know their reasons.
If I say something sarcastic to you, you know my intention, to be snide and flippant, because you feel the effect, but you won't know my reasons for why I would do such a thing. I can advance that example for if I insulted you. You have my intention to offend you, but you don't know why I would do that and what my ulterior motives are, my reasons.
The minute you start guessing one's reasons, is the minute that you become a paranoid mess, who has misaligned views with the rest of the world, regarding how other people are thinking.
We all want the same thing, but we go about it in different ways.
You can know how someone is going to react, but not how they're going to feel about it.
Before you get the wrong idea
Some people are going to read this answer, and take it the wrong way, to say that certain people are manipulative or not genuine, because they don't express their emotions and/or take an genuine enthusiastic interest in the person they're speaking to, to appreciate them for what they're worth.
To all people who will do this, I ask you not to. By "actions", I mean actions that satisfy your best interest or health, not actions that indicate how much someone loves you or not. We are all different, and we all express how we love one another in different ways.
If I converse with you for 2 months on Quora asking me lots of questions, and you don't ask me a single one, does that give me the right to class you as fake and not likening of me?
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That's what I thought!
To suggest that one person doesn't care about you as much as another person, because they said the same things but not in the same severity and context, is lunacy and poppycock at best.