Like most of us, I have been conned and scammed a few times in my life. I once very nearly fell for a romance scam, and believed for far too long that the American girl I thought I was talking to just happened to be on holiday in Nigeria long-term. I have bought goods that seemed too good to be true and found out that they were. And I have briefly believed the cold caller who promised to fix the problems with my laptop.

Overall, I like to think that I am not an easy touch for con artists. Indeed, in my old age, I sometimes feel so cynical that I find it harder to believe there is anyone decent out there and that people may be genuinely trying to help me! On my recent holiday, I was so scared of being conned into eating at a tourist-trap restaurant that I wandered the streets for hours before taking the plunge and choosing one. (They looked after me beautifully, and I had one of the great meals of my life).

But it is a common trait in many autistic people that we are too trusting and so easily led and manipulated. Some of the reasons for this are fairly obvious. Autistic people rarely lie, so we find it hard to imagine other people doing so, particularly in a callous and manipulative way. I have lied, but only when the dangers of telling the truth seemed to outweigh the consequences of being caught lying. I am also not very good at lying, and people tend to see straight through me when I try.

We are also blunt and straightforward. Some see this as rudeness, but you will always know where you stand with an autistic person. We say what we think, and any hidden agenda we might have tends to become unhidden fairly quickly!

We often have a fierce sense of justice. So, the idea that others may deliberately cheat, lie, or manipulate us for their own unjust gain often does not occur to us until it is too late. Finally, we struggle to understand things like body language and tone of voice, which encompass many of the classic tells of when someone is lying.

In short, autistic people are often easy marks. Even when we have been caught out or taken advantage of, we still find it hard to see people as other than the image they are portraying. We can be like innocents in a world of deception.

It is truly horrific that we need to encourage anyone to be less trusting and more cynical, but that seems to be where we are. The world has become so dog-eat-dog that we all have to look out for ourselves all the time to avoid being trampled. Autistic people often lack both the ability to recognise this need and the tools to put it into practice when we do see the problem. My solution, of basically not trusting anyone, ever, is really not workable in practice.

This is where good friends and allies can play a huge role. There are two big things that you can do for us. Firstly, give us honest second opinions when we are struggling with a decision. Be the cynic we need to be sometimes, and lend us your neurotypical street smarts! But also, do not laugh at us when we ask whether something is a scam, when it is ridiculously clear to you that it is or is not. Like the questions in a general knowledge quiz, the answer is only easy when you know it. We see the world in vastly different ways. I still cannot understand why others cannot immediately see the factorisation of quadratic equations, so please bear with me when I cannot spot an obvious con!

It is a shame that this is even an issue. But the world can be a harsh place, and too many people have been pushed into desperate behaviour by lack of provision and unjust systems. This in no way excuses taking advantage of others, but I can fully understand why a parent would do anything to feed a starving child, for example.

I am learning, slowly, how to find balance, but I think I will always feel vulnerable in this way and probably miss out on good opportunities that are real, yet still manage to get conned by obvious tricks. All I can is keep trying, and ask for help when I am not sure (which is most of the time!)