My friends know I ask inappropriate questions. I ask these questions in the most straightforward way possible and usually without ulterior motive. I am genuinely curious what people’s salaries are and how much is their rent and how old are their parents. I freely offer up my own answers to these very questions: I make $28,000/year, pay $550 in rent, and my mom would disinherit me if I shared her age.

Maybe it’s because I’m not trying to hoodwink anyone, but people generally me the truth. And I’m talking strangers disclose personal failures after one inquiry. I once helped my friend pick up a couch from a Craigslist seller. By the end of the interaction, I knew the seller’s hometown, graduation year, and why he and his girlfriend broke up (it was originally her couch).

However, asking these types of questions can sometimes get you into trouble or, at a minimum, leave the wrong impression.