How can you tell if someone is being sincere or just using?

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How can you tell if someone is giving you a sincere compliment on your work, or is simply "buttering you up" so they can get a ride to the train station, or some other benefit? Are there any signs I can look for? As it is, I always assume that everything is insincere, because I think it's safer. However, I realize that this might hurt people's feelings if they are indeed giving a sincere compliment, and I also realize that this is maybe thwarting some potential friendships.

When they don't normally give you compliments or they act hot and cold towards you.

^ and if the hot and cold person's compliment is immediately followed by a request.

I find it very hard to tell, because I've been used so many times in my life.

Agree with the hot and cold, a co-worker is like this with me, at first I thought it was a mood swing thing but her attempts at 'meaningful' small talk/compliments always ended in 'do you mind if I leave early' or 'are you driving past this video store so you can drop something off for me?" where as in every other situation she pretty much ignores me, took 6 months to see the pattern but it's good to feel pretty confident in saying 'no' now.

People who are overly polite are almost always after something, in my experience.

Some people are very skilled manipulators. I find these people almost impossible to see through but one red flag is that they are very selfish if you just look at the pattern over time. At first it seems that they want to please you, but then you will see that they listen to what you are saying less and less and gently force their will or desire and you slowly realize that they only wanted to please you as long as it is what they wanted as well.
So, examine the relationship, do you take turns doing things for each other? Do they have a sincere desire to make you happy? or is it almost always about pleasing or taking care of themselves?

If you have always been an outcast and people were not nice to you before and then all of a sudden they are and want to be your friend and stuff and that is after you have done something awesome or got something cool.

If someone has always been mean to you and then all of a sudden they are nice to you. Be skeptical about it.

But unfortunately some people just have hot and cold personalities and if they do it to everyone, it's very tough to tell, those people drive me crazy and make me feel tense because of their unpredictability. I just steer clear of them. But fortunately I have only known one of them in real life and only one online. My ex's mother was also like this but she had Bipolar so anything could set her off. One minute things are fine and the next thing I know, she is angry at her husband because she is yelling at him and I wonder how in the world does he put up with it and deal with it because for me I wouldn't have been able to handle it. I would be so scared and act like I am being abused because of walking on eggshells and fearing my partner.

two guys used me on and off really, one minute they acted like my friends and then the other they wouldnt stop telling me to kill myself and how much better it would be without "downy" me in the world. id always fall for it too, mainly because i have no friends so im a little desperate for approval i guess, im the guy the came to whenever they needed help on coursework or we had to do group projects, being one of the smartest in the class (granted i didnt have much competition in the ways of intelligence). i genuinely cant tell when someone is just sucking up to me to get something.....probably why it always worked. but if i had to guess its probably if someone who is usually very hostile towards you is suddenly really friendly, whenever someone compliments me (that isnt a family member) i now always think of what things they might want from me and if i cant think of anything then maybe they are sincere

Well I don't know what to do. I am so tired of feeling so sad because yesterday it seemed I was likable but now I'm not. And it's only been 22 hours. I have no idea ever if anyone ever sincerely wants to talk to me, and I am so tired of guessing and guessing wrong. I don't know when I'll get good at it. Even my cat probably doesn't like me. He probably only wants food.

Another thing I'm annoyed at: How come I can't start a conversation without people asking why I'm asking something? Last week, I asked a colleague whether she was going to her other job soon, since last week she told me that she was going to her other job now. So I strike up a conversation, "Are you going to work tonight?" And she looks at me like I'm nuts and asks why I'm asking. I said, "I'm just trying to make a conversation." Why are other people allowed to start the conversation, but not me???

I'm on the end of a rope and I wish it would break so I could fall and break my neck already.

I figured out early on that when people said nice things to me, they were either trying to get something, or were trying to manipulate my behavior, to be the way they wanted me to behave. I naturally resented this, and still do. It won't work on my behavior, but I have occasionally caved on giving people what they wanted, in the hope of reducing the stress of dealing with them. Generally, it ends up making me mad at myself, though, and that adds to my stress.