1. What is manipulation?

Manipulating of a person is a situation where an attempt is made to make a person disclose data through manipulation. There are many different ways, but the most common is when a scammer pretends to be, for example, an IT support representative or co-worker. Scams can happen online, over the phone or face to face. What makes manipulations dangerous is that they are carefully planned. Usually, the scammer collects background information about his victim to make the contact as credible as possible. Then the scammer contacts the victim and tries to create the dialogue as credible as possible. Finally, once the victim has been persuaded to take the desired action, the fraudster commits fraud. It is important to know that even a small amount of information for a scammer may be enough to combine the information with existing information, as a result the scammer may gain access to the intranet or user accounts.

2. What are the typical features of manipulation?

The most common features of manipulation are persuasion and reliability, which are used as approach tactics. It allows the victim to provide information that you would not otherwise provide. Emotional manipulation also attempts to make the victim feel pity, guilt, fear, or enthusiasm. As mentioned earlier the attacker has planned to contact, so their contact may sound credible for the basis of obtaining your information.

3. Persons manipulation tactics

Enticement

• The enticement is when the scammer entices you to do something, for example, to click on a link that interests you, or to insert a USB flash drive received in an envelope into your computer that could contain malware.

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• Information can be requested by email, text message or phone call, impersonating a genuine influential source such as a bank, courier company or a member of the management team.

4. Control measures

Slow things down

• If you’re approached with an urgent request or feel pressured, it’s important to stop for a minute before you do anything. Scammer often try to create a feeling of urgency so you won’t have enough time to think things through.

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