Scammers are constantly improving their craft and reusing techniques that are proven to work, and they sometimes share the most effective lines with other scammers, according to NPR. Romance scammers in particular often work from prepared scripts, because they’ve learned what usually works.
Agari threat researcher Ronnie Tokazowski told NPR that some of these scammers are extremely well-prepared and can carry out an entire conversation with canned responses.
“Some of the scripts will say, 'If your victim doubts you here, say this,’” Tokazowski said. “We’ve seen upwards of 28 levels of engagement before your scammer has to work to come up with something [to say].”
Tokazowski shared an example from a real romance scam in which the scammer pasted a romantic line into a message without even bothering to make the text formatting match the rest of the message. The victim didn’t seem to notice. Tokazowski added that these scammers are extremely manipulative once they get someone hooked.
“People think [scam victims] are a dumb person who doesn't have the education to tell the difference between one thing or another,” he said. “But they're hitting them on an even deeper emotional level than we currently understand right now.”
The best way to avoid falling for a romance scam is to recognize the signs early on. And, of course, what works in the world of love also works in the world of commerce: the fraud artists are equally capable of manipulating people for money, employment, job security, and do on. New-school security awareness training can help your employees spot signs of social engineering before a scammer can start manipulating them.
NPR has the story: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/18/779386167/the-language-of-cybercrime
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