Several years ago I was building an investment property. 几年前我在构建一个投资房地产项目。

My builder secured a bid of $42,000 from a plumbing contractor for the required plumbing work. 我的建筑商获得出价42000美元的管道承包商所需的管道工作。

When we awarded him the bid, he said he would give us a $7,000 discount, if we paid the full amount in advance. 当我们授予他,他说他会给我们7000美元的折扣,如果我们提前支付了全额。

Since he had been in business for 30 years and had a proven track record, I made the decision that saving $7000 was worth paying him in advance. 自从从事该业务30年,他一直以来有良好记录,我决定,值得他提前付给他7000美元。

I paid him $35,000 and never heard from him again. 我付给他35000美元,再也没有听到他的消息。

He filed bankruptcy shortly thereafter and left me with no options to get my money back. 他申请破产之后不久,我没有选择拿回我的钱。

Example 4.  The fake Domain-name company 例4。假的域名公司

About a month ago, a company in Asia contacted me. 大约一个月前,一个亚洲公司联系我。

Their email indicated that someone was trying to secure all the Asian domain name extensions for Little Things Matter. 他们的电子邮件提示,有人试图获得所有亚洲域名扩展小事务。

They gave me a list of all the domain names and indicated that since I owned a Trademark for Little Things Matter, they would give me the first right of refusal on purchasing the names. 他们给我一个列表，上面有所有域名,因为我拥有一个商标,他们会给我采购名字的优先取舍权。

I suspiciously observed their website. It gave the appearance of being a professional site with a legitimate business. 我怀疑地观察他们的网站。它给作为个专业的合法的生意的印象。

When I checked to see how long they had owned their domain name, I discovered that it had been purchased just a few months earlier. 当我看他们拥有域名有多久,我发现它只是早买几个月。

That sent up red flags so I did an Internet search. 挂起了的红旗,我在网上搜索。

I found that other people had been swindled out of hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars because they trusted this company. 我发现别人被骗了几百,以及在某些情况下几千美元,因为他们信任这家公司。

I could write a book of these types of stories. 我可以把这类的故事写本书。

My biggest take-a-ways from all these experiences are to be cautious, do your research, consider your risks and choose your relationships carefully. 从所有这些经验中是我很谨慎,做你的研究,考虑你的风险和仔细的选择你的人际关系。

Being guarded about whom I trust is not limited to money situations. 为我信任的人防范不限于保护资金的情况。

I am also extremely careful to whom I provide information I would not want shared. 我也非常小心我提供我不希望共享的信息。

I have learned the best way to keep information private is not to tell anyone, including those you trust. 我学会了保持私人信息的最好方式是不要告诉任何人,包括那些你信任的人

Let me also suggest being cautious of anyone who indicates any religious affiliation. 我还建议小心那些有任何宗教信仰的人。

While I am a person of faith, I don't talk about my faith in business situations or when I am trying to earn someone's trust. 虽然我是一个有信仰的人,我不在商业场合或当我试图获得别人的信任谈论我的信仰。

When people start talking about their faith in order to gain your trust, be extra careful. 当人们开始谈论他们的信仰为了获得你的信任,要格外小心。

While this lesson may be difficult to accept, I have learned the hard way that trust is not something you simply give away. It must be earned. 虽然这节课可能很难接受,我知道相信不是一样东西说丢弃就丢弃，它必须吸取教训。

What's been your experience on this subject?  Please tell me in the comments section below this post on littlethingsmatter.com. 在这个问题上你的经验是什么?请告诉我这篇文章下面的评论部分

And remember,you have nothing to lose by being cautious, guarding your trust until people have proven they are trustworthy. 你不会有任何损失,谨慎,保护您的信任,直到人证明他们是值得信赖的。

At the same time, you have everything to lose, including your savings, damaged relationships, and your reputation, if you give away your trust easily. 同时,如果你容易放弃你的信任，你会失去一切,包括你的存款,受损的关系和你的声誉。