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Over the past two decades, scientists have become increasingly interested in measuring people’s trust in others and its wider consequences. Surprisingly, they have found that extremely cynical dispositions do little to protect people from lies and scams, but also have the added drawback of inhibiting the cynics’ social lives. While there is no foolproof way to tell who is and isn’t trustworthy, the latest research offers some techniques to avoid being hoodwinked while maintaining our faith in humanity.