Yep, situational awareness is everything. I've had some funky stuff happen, but I just chalk it up to a gap in my awareness.
For example, just yesterday I was engaging some bandits in my Spit 8, and one of my teammates told me to check 6. Well I checked every view, and a moment later I hear a burst of 20mm gunfire and lose both of my elevators. Barely survived a BnZ by a Tempest, which I was lucky enough to escape without my elevators, managed to land it.
The only thing I still suspect is an actual cheat is App75's bomber gunnery. Literally every time I intercept him, he starts landing a lot of hits at 2K range with high speed and deflection, and every time he shoots me down with said gunnery, the damage always happens in the exact same pattern: Engine oil, Engine, Left Wing, Pilot Killed. No way someone's that accurate without an aimbot.
But that's very different from situational awareness.