In Security, there is this term called Social Engineering. It’s the practice of manipulating people through various tactics to accomplish your goals.

CompTIA focuses on seven fundamental principles at the exam.

• Authority
  • It’s when people obey someone who appears to have authority. A widespread scam is when people cold call other people pretending they are from the police and asking for money. Another gruesome example is Sarah’s Everard case. A policeman, pretending she violated Covid protocols, abducted and raped her. It’s a very tragic example of a trust that police officers violated.
• Intimidation
  • Scare tactics. To intimidate or bully a person so that social engineer achieves his goals. 
• Consensus
  • Exploits our need for belonging so that when a social engineer attacks, he tries to persuade you that everyone clicked the link or said it’s a great product.
• Scarcity
  • Salespeople like to use this tactic. For example, when selling a car, it says that it’s the best offer and will last only a few days. Better be quick, they say.
• Familiarity
  • It’s when you like a particular individual or organisation. That makes you a vulnerable person because you are biased towards that entity.
• Trust
  • Similar to familiarity concept. However, a social engineer works with a victim to gain his trust. 
• Urgency
  • It’s when action has to happen quickly.