The Psychology of Social Engineering – Mind Tricks Used

The entire social engineering attack is psychological and is effective because of the mind tricks played on targets by the attackers. These mind tricks are aimed at altering the thought patterns of victims to make them more compliant with the demands of a social engineer no matter how unusual they may seem. Taking a look at the entertainment industry, especially TV shows and movies, mind tricks are portrayed as mystical powers. Those that possess them are shown to, with very little effort, target people and get them to hand over their property and money among many other things. A 2016 series called The Catch is one of these movies. It introduces the audience to the life of a con best known as Christopher Hall. He is presented as a pro in social engineering. In the series, he is able to con his fiancée out of her...