TY - JOUR
T1 - Weapons of influence misused
T2 - A social influence analysis of why people fall prey to internet scams
AU - Muscanell, Nicole L.
AU - Guadagno, Rosanna E.
AU - Murphy, Shannon
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - Internet crime, including fraud and spread of malicious software, is a pervasive and costly global issue. Many of these crimes occur not because of technology failure but because of the human element. People can easily be manipulated through social engineering - the use of psychological tactics to influence individuals to assist in their own victimization. We employ a social influence framework, drawing upon ideas from Robert Cialdini, to understand the nature of social engineering techniques and why they are successful in exploiting unsuspecting individuals. Specifically, we discuss how social engineers misuse six pervasive weapons of influence - Liking, Authority, Scarcity, Social Proof, Reciprocity, and Commitment and Consistency - in order to effectively influence individuals to take the initial steps toward their exploitation. We conclude with a discussion of the precautions individuals can take to resist malicious influence attempts online.
AB - Internet crime, including fraud and spread of malicious software, is a pervasive and costly global issue. Many of these crimes occur not because of technology failure but because of the human element. People can easily be manipulated through social engineering - the use of psychological tactics to influence individuals to assist in their own victimization. We employ a social influence framework, drawing upon ideas from Robert Cialdini, to understand the nature of social engineering techniques and why they are successful in exploiting unsuspecting individuals. Specifically, we discuss how social engineers misuse six pervasive weapons of influence - Liking, Authority, Scarcity, Social Proof, Reciprocity, and Commitment and Consistency - in order to effectively influence individuals to take the initial steps toward their exploitation. We conclude with a discussion of the precautions individuals can take to resist malicious influence attempts online.
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U2 - 10.1111/spc3.12115
DO - 10.1111/spc3.12115
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84903698601
SN - 1751-9004
VL - 8
SP - 388
EP - 396
JO - Social and Personality Psychology Compass
JF - Social and Personality Psychology Compass
IS - 7
ER -