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3 More Ways Criminals use influence to steal

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Criminals use six basic principles to influence and steal. In the first post we discussed:

  • Reciprocation: Do something nice for a person and they will feel obligated to return the favor.
  • Social Proof: This is the “It’s okay if everyone else does it” approach.
  • Commitment and Consistency: Get someone to verbally or in writing commit to something, and this will increase the chances they’ll follow through.

11DRobert Cialdini is a psychologist who studied influence for nearly 30 years, condensing his findings into six principles. In this post we will discuss 3 more principles of influences that tie it all together and make scammers experts at their craft.

Liking

  • If someone likes you they will more likely comply with you. Get more bees with honey as they say. We do business with those we know, like, and trust. When you see others rate a product high, you are more likely to buy it.
  • The liking could even result from noticing that you have a similar hairstyle or body mannerisms. This is why salespeople are taught to mimic the vocal patterns of their prospects.
  • A similar name, knowing the same people, finding common ground, a similar physical appearance, is all comforting.
  • Scammers do everything they can to appear as a likable trusted source. The scam email looks exactly like your bank because you must like your bank if you trust them with your money, so you click the link. This new person friends you on social and you see they are connected to 25 of your others friends and colleagues. They must be OK right? No.

Authority

  • Coming off with some authority increases one’s ability to influence people. This is why salespeople are taught to speak with downward inflections.
  • To seem more authoritative, wear dark clothing. Police officers and security guards dress in black or dark blue. So do ministers, judges and karate instructors. Attorneys in court, especially during closing arguments, usually wear dark. Imagine a cop in pink. Or SWAT in lavender.
  • But authority can also be white (doctor’s lab coat, nurse’s uniform). The bottom line is that when people perceive authority, they tend to comply.
  • This concept greatly pertains to social aggression: A man harassing a woman will usually back off if she suddenly squares up her shoulders, stares hard at him and speaks in a deep, primal voice, “Get out of my way, or else!” Dog are more effectively trained when the trainer uses a deeper voice.
  • Scammers pose as the government, law enforcement, the IRS, bill collectors, the security department from your credit card company, HR, accounting and more. Anytime an authoritive figure contacts you, be suspect.

Scarcity

  • Scarcity of an item makes it more appealing. Antique cars and rare old coins are worth more because there are few of them and a lot of people who want them.
  • This concept is used by marketers all the time. Ever hear “will soon be discontinued”? You suddenly buy a dozen of the product, even though you’ve hardly purchased it before. Ever hear “limited offer” and “but if you act now…”?
  • When there is a big storm/hurricane coming, people clear the shelves at the supermarket in fear they will not eat or drink.
  • Scammers understand scarcity is also associated with loss. They use the same principle when they tell you in a pop up if you don’t fix this, or in an email if you don’t act now, or over the phone if you don’t give up your username and password all your data/money etc will be gone, you won’t get paid next week etc. It’s limitless how they use scarcity.

I’ve said this before. Don’t be cattle. Don’t act like sheep. Most of the world functions based on the honor system. As long as everyone is honest, everything works seamlessly. The honor system is designed with the mindset that we are all sheep and there are no wolves. We know there are plenty of wolves.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

3 Ways Criminals influence to steal

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Criminals use six basic principles of Influence to steal. In this post we will discuss the first 3. The ability to influence boils down to science. By applying some science, anyone can learn to be more influential. It’s easy to influence sheep and cattle. It’s a bit more complicated to influence people. But many people can be influenced as easy as a cow. Criminals understand this the same way sales people do. The derivative of “confidence” is con. All influence in some way is designed to gain your confidence and in some cases to trick you. That’s where “confidence trick” comes from. Robert Cialdini is a psychologist who studied influence for nearly 30 years, condensing his findings into six principles. I’ll bet every crime syndicate out there read his books.

Reciprocation

  • Do something nice for a person and they will feel obligated to return the favor. This concept is seen in doctors who promote a particular drug—the pharmaceutical company has just given him free notepads, pens and a coffee mug.
  • Want your children to show you respect? Show them respect. They’ll feel obligated to treat you the same. Mostly.
  • Scammers use this by offering something free in an emailed link. You might have to reciprocate and give up an email address or simply click a link. Clicking on the link installs a virus. You get a call from a colleague in tech support. They say “I need your password to fix this server” and “I’ll be there for you someday when you need help”. We want to help, we want to return the favor.

Social Proof

  • This is the “It’s okay if everyone else does it” approach. People have a tendency to check out what other people are doing when they’re not sure what course to take. Stand on a street corner in a busy city and look up at a skyscraper, then watch the crowed gather to see what you are looking at.
  • Why does the new treadmill user at the gym hold onto the rails while walking? Because they see everyone else in the gym doing it. What made you decide to buy that kitchen gadget? Because the TV ad said, “They’re going fast, everyone’s buying it, so order now!”
  • This concept also applies to emergency situations, such as people lined up at a third story window of a burning building, afraid to jump—until one person leaps. Suddenly, everyone else leaps.
  • Scammers will use social proof to trick you in a Ponzi investment scheme. If all kinds of people you trust are making the same investment, then why wouldn’t you?

Commitment and Consistency

  • Get someone to verbally or in writing commit to something, and this will increase the chances they’ll follow through. They are committed. Signing a contract means you are committed. Anything that comes out of that contract is your responsibility.
  • People want to do things by the book, they want to be civilized and play by the rules. This plays off of social proof to conform like others.
  • Scammers recognize most people are committed to “doing the right thing”, or being appropriate. So if you get a call or an email saying there is an issue with your account, you want to do the right thing and fix it. Getting things right may mean giving your data to a criminal.

Don’t be cattle. Don’t act like sheep. Most of the world functions based on the honor system. As long as everyone is honest, everything works seamlessly. The honor system is designed with the mindset that we are all sheep and there are no wolves. We know there are plenty of wolves. Don’t be sheep.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

5 Smart Ways to Protect Your Home from Dumb Burglars

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Having been a home security expert for years, I am always amazed at how dumb criminals could be, but there’s always a homeowner they can outwit, such as in the case below:

3HA man burglarized two houses in Marshall town, Iowa, and then sold the loot on Facebook, says a story in the online Times-Republican. The genius busted in when the homeowners were on a holiday trip, making off with several TVs, DVDs, clothes, even small kitchen appliances.

Here are ways to protect your home from burglars dumb and smart, skittish and determined:

  1. Secure the garage. Many burglars gain entry via the garage. Make sure your automatic garage door opener, if in your car, is hidden from view. Always keep the door locked that joins your garage to your home. Often, this door goes unlocked, creating a weak link in home security.
  2. Have strong doors and locks. Exterior doors should not be hollow-core, but made of metal such as steel, or solid wood. Use a deadbolt lock, and never forget to lock all doors and windows when you leave and also when you go to bed.
  3. Don’t hide keys outside the house; even a dumb criminal will know to look under the flower pot or doormat. Leave a spare set of house keys with a trusted person when you’re on vacation.
  4. Use a home security monitoring system. The screaming alarm is a superb deterrent should a burglar penetrate a portal. All exterior doors should have detectors and motion sensors. This system should be linked to a monitoring center so that trained professionals can promptly send out help.
  5. Don’t advertise your vacation. A would-be burglar can learn you’re away by reading your Facebook page’s posts about your vacation plans. Crooks do indeed peruse social media sites for these kinds of posts. Keep your vacation plans as secret as possible. Put a hold on your mail or have a trusted person collect it. Put a vacation hold on newspaper delivery.

Follow these guidelines and they’ll make a big difference in the protection of your home from intruders.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.