Real Case in Social Engineering Competition
Stage 1 – Fake Profile:
- Bio: Melvin claims to be a retired middle school teacher residing in the Orlando area of Florida. Like Katie, his spouse has passed away in Covid, and he has only his grandson, Peter, to keep him company.
- Psychological Persuasion Techniques:
- Likeness/commonality: Melvin poses as a single retired teacher to prompt a connection with Katie. They are both lonely and have a similar occupational and familial background, allowing Katie to easily relate to him on a personal level.
- Commitment/consistency: Melvin understands Katie’s family-centered values, and uses this to augment the effect of the commonality between them.
Stage 2 – Contact & Grooming
- Katie and Melvin had several months of “small talk,” including compliments about Katie’s dog, conversations about their shared interests in reading and events in the world, and pictures sent by Melvin of Peter and Lucky, his dog.
- “Love bombing”- During this time, Melvin sent flowers to her, employing “sweet talk” and nicknames, and giving Katie the impression that he is someone who will always be there for her to share her thoughts and feelings.
- Katie and Melvin would engage by text via FaceSpace multiple times a day.
- Psychological Persuasion Techniques:
- Likeness/commonality: Melvin intentionally emphasizes his shared interests and hobbies with Katie in order to gradually build up her trust and interest in Melvin – grooming – and uncover her “soft spots”, those for dogs and children, through frequent texts and pictures.
- Commitment/consistency: As Katie is a person who has values centered around caring for family members and a love for dogs, Melvin sends photos of Peter and Lucky to manipulate her into developing a strong attachment to Peter – viewing him as her own grandson – and to Lucky. Melvin also uses her longing for the company of children or grandchildren to make her feel that his family is now also her family, expanding her feelings of commitment to Melvin and sense of responsibility for Peter and Lucky’s well-being.
Stage 3 – Desperate Circumstances
- Melvin claims that Peter became addicted to drugs after his parents’ deaths and needed to go to rehab – Katie transferred $5,000 to Melvin to support Peter.
- Melvin experienced a slip and fall, and needed money to install a ramp in his house
- Melvin’s house – especially the roof – sustained severe damage from Hurricane Nicole, and Katie transferred $25,000 to Melvin for repairs.
- Katie and Melvin plan to support Peter, including helping him buy a car, find an apartment, get a job, or go back to school to get a degree.
- Psychological Persuasion Techniques:
- Commitment/consistency: Katie values family and clearly has a soft spot for Peter, so her values and caring nature compel her to give Melvin her money to support Peter’s rehabilitation process. Her love for children and previous experience in teaching, along with her desire to have people to love after the death of her husband, all encourage her to stay committed to helping Melvin and Peter through tough times in their lives.
- Scarcity/urgency: These situations seem dire, and Melvin’s requests for money are urgent, prompting Katie to immediately act to financially support him and his needs without question.
- Natural inclination to help: Katie, a caring and nurturing individual, naturally likes to help others; it is evident from her previous experience as an art teacher and continues to show in her interactions with Melvin. When he expresses his concern for Peter’s drug addiction and the damages to his house, Katie clearly expresses that she will be there to support Melvin and his family, and willingly contributes money to help him repair his house and support Peter’s rehabilitation fees. Thus, Melvin is able to use Katie’s natural willingness to help others in need to trick her into giving him money.
Step 4: Re-victimization
- During the first session Team RAGE, posing as Katie, had with Melvin, Melvin seemed very protective of all information and became cautious/vague when answering questions- he seemed to notice that “Katie” was already starting to have doubts about him.
- However, during the second session, he attempted to regain “Katie’s” trust through love bombing (showering her with numerous compliments, praising her as caring/supportive, and addressing her as “Katie-bug”).