I’m always careful when people praise me

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Way back, at the beginning of the eighties, I spent a couple of years in Greece. I was young (well, younger, anyways), had no responsibilities, and took life a day at a time. It was great. I took on casual jobs, picked fruits, painted houses, dug trenches, stuff like that. And soon I had build up a reputation as a good worker. After a year people from villages 20 miles away, up in the mountains, came looking for me when they needed a reliable laborer. They generally paid me a pittance, less than they would have paid a Greek for the same job. But that was okay with me, because they praised me in the highest tones, telling me always what good and efficent worker I was, how lucky they were to have me, etc. And I fell for it. Up to this day I get suspicious when somebody gives me a compliment. My thought always go like ‘What’s the catch?’ or ‘What’s he really want?’ Do you have any similar experiences?