In the movies, we all see suspicious behavior coming from a mile away. Whether it’s a stalker edging through the shadows after some poor hapless girl or a would-be killer playing out the “he’s right behind you” trope, the actions are typically so blatant you can’t miss them. In real life, though, spotting sketchy behavior can be a bit more difficult. it takes some situational awareness and knowing what to look for. Here are some tips and tricks for spotting potentially bad actors before they reach you.
Don’t ignore obvious signs.
Before we get into somewhat subtle behavior, let’s take a moment to discuss obvious red flags. It can be easy to dismiss potentially harmful behavior when it either seems way too obvious or because you can’t believe anything bad would ever happen to you. That guy with a knife who’s in the process of breaking into your car? Yes, he’s a real threat, and no, you shouldn’t confront him (unless you’re in the car, which is another issue entirely). Clear-as-day threats are sometimes minimized through disbelief or conditioning.
Threats should be taken seriously. Just because you believe a certain person would never harm you or that something as bizarre as a machete-wielding madman would never appear on your street doesn’t mean you should ignore the warning signs. Speaking as someone who once had a police chase involving an armed man end in their front yard, I’m comfortable saying it really is smart to expect the unexpected. It doesn’t matter if you live or work in a nice area. Bad things happen everywhere, and just because those bad things are more likely to occur in higher-risk locations doesn’t mean it’s impossible for them to take place in nicer spots. Take the threat seriously and don’t waste response time trying to mentally process the fact that’s it really happening. Spoiler alert: it’s happening.
Pay attention to out-of-place behavior.
To illustrate this one let’s consider the above image, which is taken from the movie “Happy Death Day” (if you haven’t seen it, fair warning, I’m about to ruin it for you). In the movie, the main character is in a time loop where she is repeatedly killed at the end of the day. It takes the entire show for her to realize the person trying to murder her is someone she thought was her friend.
Not only that, she doesn’t figure out that her “friend” is incredibly creative. Her would-be killer uses the normal scenario of giving someone a cupcake for their birthday and adds poison. Why is this noteworthy? Because in this particular case, the girls belong to a sorority where eating carbs and junk food is heavily discouraged to the point none of them will eat those foods. Despite this, the heroine repeatedly accepts the poisoned cupcake. It isn’t until the end that she realizes her sorority sister really wouldn’t give her a cupcake, not unless it was for nefarious reasons.
This illustration points out how sketchy behavior can be couched in seemingly normal or safe actions. Something that might generally be seen as acceptable in other circumstances can be a warning sign in others. Don’t allow yourself to become so conditioned to certain behaviors that you simply go along with something when it appears out of context. Pay attention. The clues are usually there if you take the time to see them.
Beware Normalcy Bias
Just a cute dog in the above image, right? No, not exactly. That’s a still shot from the movie “Cujo,” and if you’re at all familiar with it, you know that fluffy Saint Bernard is about to go on a killing spree. The dangers of normalcy bias, where you see what you expect to see rather than what’s actually going on, cannot be stressed enough. Learning to recognize sketchy behavior involves actually seeing those little warnings rather than going blankly about your day. You might be surprised by the number of people who will walk right past a crime in progress or a threat of some kind because they simply don’t expect to see it. Instead of seeing a bad guy holding a knife or gun at his side to threaten a victim, people wander by thinking it’s two friends talking.
This differs from noticing normal behaviors that become abnormal in certain settings because it covers the literal failure to notice bad things going down. Because you expect to see a harmless elderly woman, you fail to notice she’s holding a weapon and is about to assault you. Learn to see beyond your knee-jerk expectations and notice what’s really going on around you. This ties into the need to understand and practice good situational awareness.
Learn to read body language.
Sketchy behavior in the form of body language varies quite a bit. Some warning signs are obvious while others are far more subtle. Pay attention to things like where a person’s hands are, whether their shoulders are tense or relaxed, and what kind of eye contact they are or are not making with you. Unusually tense or excessively relaxed attitudes are both worth taking note of depending on the situation. For example, if someone is going to significant effort not to pay attention to you and to be relaxed about it, in reality, they might be paying a great deal of attention to what you’re doing.
Pay attention to your gut instincts.
Sometimes you feel as though something is wrong but you can’t quite put your finger on it. All too often we ignore those warning feelings for fear of being rude or paranoid. Just because you can’t clearly define what is wrong at that precise moment doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
If someone makes you uncomfortable, leave. Similarly, if a certain location seems unsafe or makes you feel uneasy, feel free to take off. Although there are some instances where we’re stuck and unable to remove ourselves from a potentially bad scenario, we usually have some say in the matter. It’s better to be thought of as rude than to be the victim of a crime your gut instinct told you was coming, but you ignored it.
How can you learn to notice sketchy behavior?
A good way to hone your awareness is through people-watching. You can do that anywhere: the mall, a fair, a football game, etc. Start paying closer attention to the little things people do by people-watching and you’ll have an easier time spotting things in your daily life.
And remember, the term sketchy behavior is rather broad because it covers such a wide array of actions. Someone’s tone of voice can tip you off that something’s wrong, as can the way a person chooses to approach you. Knowing what is a problem and following through with acting on it are important. When it comes to recognizing sketchy behavior, you simply need to learn to truly see what’s going on around you, trust your instincts, and be willing to remove yourself from risky situations.
