In a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized, cybercriminals are finding more sophisticated ways to scam people out of their personal information and hard-earned money. Scams have evolved from the classic Nigerian Prince emails to highly sophisticated phishing attacks that can deceive even the most tech-savvy individuals. But what is it about these scams that make them so effective? The answer lies in psychology. By understanding the psychological tricks that scammers use, we can better protect ourselves from falling victim to their schemes.
- Preying on Emotions - Hitting You Where It Hurts: Scammers manipulate their victims by exploiting their emotions, such as fear, greed, and a desire to help others. For instance, a scammer may send an email appearing to be from a bank, warning that your account has been compromised and urging you to take immediate action by clicking on a link. The fear of losing your money can cause you to act without thinking, and before you know it, you've given the scammer access to your bank account. Similarly, scams promising huge financial gains for little, or no effort can play on people's greed and desire for easy money. And scams that ask for donations to help those in need can tug at your heartstrings and make you more likely to hand over your money without questioning the legitimacy of the request. These tactics are meant to disrupt your logical thought process and make you act impulsively.
- Establishing Trust: Trust is a crucial element in any scam. If you don’t trust the person or entity contacting you, you’re less likely to fall for their scam. Scammers use various techniques to establish trust and appear more legitimate. They may use official-looking logos and email addresses, impersonate someone you know, or even hack into your friend's social media accounts and send you messages from there. Scammers also use social engineering techniques to gain your trust. They may start a conversation with you on social media and engage in friendly chit-chat before asking for money or personal information. By establishing a rapport with you, they hope to lower your guard and make you more susceptible to their scam.
- Exploiting Cognitive Biases: Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, whereby inferences about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion. Scammers exploit these biases to their advantage. For instance, the availability bias leads us to overestimate the likelihood of events that come easily to mind. Scammers exploit this by using recent events, such as natural disasters or the Covid-19 pandemic, as the basis for their scams, knowing that these events are likely to be at the forefront of your mind and therefore seem more plausible. Another cognitive bias that scammers exploit is the confirmation bias, which is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's pre-existing beliefs or values. Scammers may use this to their advantage by providing you with information that aligns with your existing beliefs or values, making you more likely to fall for their scam.
- Using Social Proof - Everyone Else Is Doing It: Ever received an email that claims you've won a lottery, and it even lists names of ‘previous winners? That’s the scammer using social proof. If it appears that others are doing something, we’re more likely to join in. Always do your own due diligence rather than blindly following the crowd.
- Creating a Sense of Urgency – Time is of the essence: Scammers often induce a sense of urgency to prompt you to act quickly without thoroughly thinking things through. They may tell you that you need to confirm your account details immediately to avoid being locked out, or that you must send money right away to help a loved one in trouble. This sense of urgency bypasses your rational thinking, leading you to act impulsively. Always pause and take a breath; real opportunities or crises don’t often demand instant action.
- Mimicking Official Communications: Scammers frequently mimic official communications from banks, government agencies, or other trusted organizations to make their scams appear more legitimate. They use official-looking letterheads, logos, and language to convince you that the communication is genuine.
- Authority - Because I Said So: Cybercriminals often impersonate figures of authority, such as law enforcement agents or bank representatives, to manipulate their victims. We are conditioned to obey authority figures, so when someone claims to be from your bank and requests your account info, you are more likely to comply.
- Reciprocity - Returning the Favour: Scammers sometimes offer something for 'free' to invoke the principle of reciprocity. The idea is that if you receive something, you are more inclined to give something back. Be wary of unsolicited gifts or rewards, especially if they require you to share personal or financial details.
- Consistency - The Small Ask: Scammers often start with small, seemingly harmless requests that most people would agree to. Once you've agreed to the smaller request, they will then hit you with a larger, more compromising ask. This is based on our natural desire to act consistently with our previous decisions. Be cautious when a minor request is quickly followed by a significant one.
- Data Aggregation - Knowing Just Enough: In the era of social media, gathering titbits of personal information has never been easier for scammers. They use this data to personalize their scams, making them highly believable. A personalised scam is a powerful tool because it triggers the familiarity bias—we’re more likely to trust something or someone familiar to us.
- Dark Patterns - The Invisible Maze: Ever tried to cancel a subscription and found yourself navigating a labyrinthine website? That's a dark pattern. Dark patterns can take many forms, such as misleading wording, hidden costs, or bait-and-switch tactics. Always read the fine print and be aware of checkboxes that are ticked by default. and be sceptical of any online offer that seems too good to be true
- Out-of-Context Requests - Making You Doubt: Scammers often refer to conversations or transactions from different platforms to induce doubt and susceptibility. They may claim to have spoken to you about something on another platform or refer to a transaction that took place elsewhere. This out-of-context approach can make you second-guess whether you’re missing something important, making you more susceptible to the scam.
Knowledge is your best defence against scams. Understanding the psychological tactics that cyber criminals use will make you less vulnerable to their schemes. Always be cautious, trust your gut, and when in doubt, do some digging. Scammers play the game of manipulating human behaviour; it's time you know the rules so you can beat them at their own game. Stay safe, and don’t get played.