Conmen flatter to deceive

Organised criminals are using psychological tricks to con PC users into handing over personal data and money, according to security experts.

Assuming trustworthy identities, engaging in friendly banter and targeting human emotions such as fear, insecurity and greed are just some of the tactics they use, concluded a report from security firm McAfee.

Professor Clive Hollin, a leading forensic scientist who led the research, said: "Given the right conditions in terms of the persuasiveness of the communication and the critical combination of situational and personal factors, most people may be vulnerable to misleading information."

And it's not just computing novices that fall for the tricks, according to McAfee.

"This point is true both for experienced and inexperienced computer users: while naivety may be a partial explanation, even sophisticated users can be deceived and become suggestible to misleading messages," said Professor Hollin.

McAfee said that the tactics were an inevitable result of cybercriminals honing their techniques to con surfers.

Greg Day, security analyst at McAfee said: "Perpetrators of crime learn from experience and become increasingly sophisticated: they learn what techniques are successful, who falls for what, what bypasses security, and so on.

"Like con men on the street devising new tricks, internet fraudsters need a never-ending supply of ways to exploit victims online. Bypassing mental barriers rather than software security is an increasingly evident tactic of cybercriminals and one that will only continue become more prolific in the raft of online attacks," said Day.

www.mcafee.com

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