According to Kantor, the following are vulnerable to psychopathic manipulators:
* too trusting - people who are honest often assume that everyone else is honest. They commit themselves to people they hardly know without checking credentials etc. They rarely question so-called experts.
* too altruistic - the opposite of psychopathic, too honest, too fair, too empathetic
* too impressionable - overly seduced by charmers. For example they might vote for the phony politician who kisses babies.
* too naive - cannot believe there are dishonest people in the world or if there were they would be allowed to operate.
* too masochistic - lack of self-respect and unconsciously let psychopaths take advantage of them. They think they deserve it out of a sense of guilt.
* too permissive - excessively permissive parents can become victims of children with a conduct disorder.
* too narcissistic - narcissists are prone to falling for unmerited flattery.
* too greedy - the greedy and dishonest may fall prey to a psychopath who can easily entice them to act in an immoral way.
* too immature - has impaired judgment and believes the exaggerated advertising claims.
* too materialistic - easy prey for loan sharks or get-rich-quick schemes
* too dependent - dependent people need to be loved and are therefore gullible and liable to say yes to something they should say no to.
* too lonely - lonely people may accept any offer of human contact. A psychopathic stranger may offer human companionship for a price.
* too impulsive - make snap decisions about, for example, what to buy or who to marry without consulting others.
* too frugal - cannot say no to a bargain even if they know the reason why it is so cheap
* too rebellious - patronise counterfeiters, for example, as they have an anti-authority stance and like to break rules
* being elderly - the elderly can become fatigued and less capable of multi-tasking. When hearing a sales pitch they are less likely to consider that it could be a con. They are prone to giving money to someone with a hard-luck story. See elder abuse.