# 32 Don't Fall For Scams *Week 6, Day 2 of [[00 The Wealthy Stoic Course]]* #source/course << [[31 Pick The Low Hanging Fruit|Back]] | [[33 Tap Into The Most Powerful Force On Earth|Next]] >> ⁠![](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/upliftnowapp.appspot.com/o/category_course_lesson_images%2Fdailystoic%2F-NQ6W9MRe_Qw6nK6vN3A%2Fcli4q5cd2000bs601o73iapvi%2Ff2a446ae-f88a-49cd-9e97-520e34fdeffb.jpg?alt=media&token=c71d1a65-c84c-4a05-b966-900ea2ae5c48) ## Content The financial columnist Matt Levine writes a great daily financial newsletter called "Money Stuff.”  Since 2013, Levine has covered every corner of the financial universe. He says one of the most important rules to success is this: > "Don't fall for scams." This is a core premise of Stoicism. The one thing you must do, Epictetus said, is stop and put every impression to the test. Marcus said it was one of the crucial lessons his tutor Rusticus taught him, “not to fall for every smooth talker.” Or, as [Dr. Stixrad said on the Daily Stoic podcast](https://dailystoic.com/dr-william-stixrud-ned-johnson-1/), we must have the discipline to ask: “Is this true?” Remember when all of those celebrities fell for the FTX scam? Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal, Steph Curry, Giselle Bündche, Larry David, and many others fell for the smooth talker, Sam Bankman-Fried. Adam Moskowitz, a lawyer that led the class-action lawsuit against the celebrity FTX ambassadors, said that through his investigation, he found just one person who did their due diligence, who put Bankman-Fried to the test.  “The one person I found that did that,” Moskowitz said, “was Taylor Swift.”  Swift was approached by FTX with a $100 million endorsement deal. But after asking a simple question, she walked away from the offer. "In our discovery,” Moskowitz said, “Taylor Swift actually asked them: 'Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?'"  Don’t fall for scams. Put every smooth talker to the test. Ask, "Is this too good to be true?" **Watch TikTok [video](https://www.tiktok.com/@daily_stoic/video/7234194281328839982)** 📺 The clip above is from Ryan's interview with Gretchen Rubin. To listen to the full episode, click below or click [here](https://dailystoic.com/gretchen-rubin-on-the-power-of-exploring-your-senses/). --- ## Activity **Due diligence.** What's something that has seemed like a scam to you? Were you right? What was off putting about it? Is there an opportunity that has popped up in your life that seems a little too good to be true? How so?