Fascination

I don’t know why, but I find scammers absolutely fascinating; the styles and methods of manipulation intrigue me, and I have to wonder how it works (or if it does— but some of it HAS to, otherwise scams wouldn’t exist).

I got this one the other day, via the Contact page on this website. Can you count the layers of meta? I mean, this is an information security site, and the scammer warns of scams, but explains that the sender (scammer) got scammed because they (the sender/scammer) wanted to hack their partner’s communications, and that the thing being sold (hacking services/felonies) is trustworthy. My mind melts when I think about it.

(I took out the scammer contact info, of course.)

“Beware of scammers i have been scammed 3 times because i was trying to know if my husband was cheating until i met this hacker named; ([scammer email address]) who helped me hack into my spouse phone for real this great hacker hacked into my spouse whats-app messages,Facebook messages.text messages,call logs,deleted text messages,bitcoin account and many more i was impressed with his job and he brought me results under 24 hours believe me he is real and his services are cheap and affordable.”

It’s a strictly prurient interest, but I am just addicted to wondering about the efficacy and rationale of scams.

My Favorite (and Least Favorite) Security Moment of 2017

I was preparing to teach a class in another city, and communicating via email with the POC at the client site. In addition to explaining about the location, parking, and so forth, the POC included this tidbit:

"Upon first entering the facility, you can pick up your security badger at the reception desk."

I have never, ever, been more disappointed by a typo.