Online scams are a form of social engineering that uses techniques of influence and manipulation to shape people’s behavior. This opinion belongs to Stefan Popov, Ph.D. in psychology, and was expressed during the public debate “Why is society vulnerable to financial scams?”, organized by the IPN News Agency. According to the psychologist, online fraud relies not only on technical means but, above all, on psychological mechanisms through which victims are persuaded to act in the scammers’ favor.
According to the specialist, criminals exploit the trust that people place in authorities and institutions. “Firstly, it starts with social trust. To a large extent, people have relative trust in strangers, especially in officials. When we are stopped by a patrol officer, we do not ask for his documents for verification. We assume that he is indeed a policeman. Therefore, fraudsters do not start from scratch to establish this trust. They take advantage of an already existing social trust”, explained Stefan Popov.
Furthermore, the psychologist points out that criminals rely on the lack of informational references when constructing their manipulation scenarios. “We are often told to think critically, to be vigilant, but in order for the brain to understand information, it has to accept it as true. Doubt arises when the individual has other informational references. Therefore, if you don’t know how banking regulations work, and someone tells you that you need to send the secret code via SMS, you might think that’s probably true. You have no way to doubt it because you don’t have any other information”, explained Stefan Popov.
At the same time, the psychologist warns that the phenomenon of online scams affects people of all age categories. According to him, the strong emotions provoked by the scenarios invented by scammers reduce the victims’ ability to rationally analyze the situation.
“Previously, it was assumed that the elderly are more likely to become victims, but today we see that such cases can happen to absolutely anyone. Another mechanism that triggers in victims is emotion. If you are told that your money has been stolen or that you have a relative involved in an accident, emotions such as fear, guilt, and shame are triggered. Emotions that blur critical thinking, and people start to act solely on the basis of emotional impulses”, the psychologist further explained.
The public debate “Why is society vulnerable to financial scams?” is the 352nd edition of the debate cycle “Developing political culture in public debates”. The IPN Agency carries out this cycle with the support of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
