One of the most interesting things that I have ever learned about lies is that for them to work, they must include truths.
The original context that I heard it in was actually, an old Jewish adage, however, since learning it I have found it to be true time and time again.
You see, any one can lie. However, to really pull the wool over someones eyes, they have to convince themselves that the liar is telling the truth. It is something that only they can do, the liar can’t do it for them.
So how best to do that? Include easily verifiable truths in your story.
The reason that this works so well is based on the lazy principle of people, which states that we don’t do any more work than we think we need to in life.
So when we verify parts of a liars story, we then assume the rest of the story is correct, thus believing the false story in its entirety.
I’m not sure there is a way around this, but perhaps remembering that this is true will allow us to no be fooled by others who are looking to take advantage of our good nature.