The sociopath preys on others in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. His game is as variable as the weather. The only question is what he wants, what interests him, what deviant thrill he can derive from using you as the pawn in his never-ending game of self satisfaction. Often he doesn’t really want what he takes from you. It is the very act of taking that thrills him. He will explore and exploit any crack in your armor to amuse himself. The conquest is all. The manipulation and control of whoever crosses his path is his sole reason for being. It is the reason he arises in the morning and what fuels his dreams at night. He is relentless in his pursuit. He never tires. He cannot accept “no” as a response to his inappropriate requests or demands. Interestingly, he particularly targets the soft hearted. They are easy prey, and he derives a macabre sense of satisfaction in damaging the trusting heart.
Perversely, the sociopath sees his own lack of conscience as strength. He does not understand morals, guilt, or remorse. He has no emotional attachment to others. He considers loyalty and gratitude as weakness.
The sociopath needs money to live. He needs money to further his games. He will take the easy money first, a few dollars here and there, lent and never repaid, then jump to taking whatever isn’t guarded. No family member, spouse, close friend or business associate is immune from the financial scheming of the sociopath. It is an easy jump for him to help himself to another’s checkbook and credit card, all without permission and all without remorse. From a few dollars loan to a request to a spouse to liquidate her funds is a simple path for the accomplished sociopath. He takes the same delight in emptying his child’s piggy bank as he does in bankrupting a spouse. Only when the money trail is memory, when there are no future funds on the horizon, will the sociopath move on, leaving his victim broke, in debt, and often homeless. I know. I have walked that road.
The sociopath has an all-pervasive sense of entitlement, his path of self-gain sometimes leaving a criminal history. His record, if it is brought to light, may include theft, check fraud, identity theft, lawsuit abuse, insurance abuse, fraudulent loans, even robbery.
But money’s not the main thing. While the money trail may be the easiest to discover and examine, it is important only in that it allows a certain lifestyle, allows the sociopath the freedom to continue his manipulation of others. Other people’s money allows him the opportunity to spend his time mastering manipulation, to learn more sophisticated ways to damage others, to develop his cunning, to practice his perversions. The predator remembers what has and has not worked in the past. He applies this knowledge to the future. He begins to develop and refine techniques for manipulating his pawns. With passing time, these techniques become more sophisticated. With each success, his ways become more callused.
There is a second side to the predator’s manipulation. Just as he delights in manipulating others, he also does his best to manipulate his environment, to make it safe, to let him hide from the light of knowledge. He will learn how the criminal system works. He will study that system to see how it can benefit him. He will tangle pursuit in red tape. He will lay a many layered smokescreen so he can go unnoticed. This is the framework the sociopath will use to continue his craft.