Proffesional Lying - How to become social engeneer
This artical is about social engeneering, which basically is lying to someone to
get something of value, like con artistry. I wrote this two days after I got the
CD, "Guide to Hacking 2002". Naturally, it has a disclaimer --- "This CD is for
research purposes only." Not, bad considering it had a barage of hard drive
crashers and trojans on it. I was looking in this CD, then suddenly I found
a guide on how to professionally lie. And thats how this artical spawned.
First off - What is social engineering?
It is basically getting something by communicating people.
The Basics
Social engineering is based on making people believe something that is wrong
or non-existent, so as I said before, it is just plain lying! This means you
should be quick to the thought. You need to be able to act very good. People
should think what you are doing is real. Be a good illusionist. If you are
playing the new customer that wants to make a big trade with the company,
how would he react to this situation? How would he talk and walk? Would
he be angry? Remember --- behave like the lyeee* (*=Lyeee [person you are lying
to]).
Tone of Voice
Your tone of voice should also be reflecting the person you are playing. How should he sound like? For example a typical soldier would talk with a quite high voice while the doctor talks softly. Learn and practice your character. Also accent and the words of your character are very important. Does he wait times to times while talking? Does he tell "o" strongly? Get used to his habits.
If you are talking just as anyone and don't have a special character, talk as clearly and fluently (fluently - NOT quickly!) as possible.
Eye Contact
Eye contact is usefull especially when you are going to persuade someone or when you try to be someone trusted. First of all, don't wear sunglasses if you want to persuade someone. Look at them in the third-eye point, which is the open area between eyebows and don't close your eyes much. Never look at other things while talking. This can make people feel that you are not giving them importance or not listening to them. Also don't open your eyes big like the magicians in the films. This will make you seem silly.
Don't make too much eye contacts if you don't want to draw attention or don't want to be remembered much. Maybe you can wear sunglasses, too, because it won't let others see your eyes and also is a plus if someone takes your photograph somehow. If you wear one, make sure it is not a very expensive or strange one and there is sun. Wearing sunglasses when there is no sun can draw attention.
Body Language
Bodies of human beings reflect their emotions and thoughts by making some movements and this is called the body language. Body language and costume is used to get information about people and giving them impressions without talking to them. Costume, like a businessman's suit can be used for the same thing. Make sure your costume is not something so cool or extraordinary (if it doesn't need to be) because you'll draw attention. Here are some body language tips:
1- If the person is standing one leg behing another one, he is ready to attack.
2- If the person is standing two legs on the same row, he is quite self-confident.
3- If the person is standing straight, he is again self-confident.
4- If the person is not standing straight, he is probably not in a good mood or is not self-confident.
5- If the person's hands are on his chest or his arms tied each other, he is in protective mode.
6- If the person's hands are tied behind him, this shows he is too much confident (this is generally seen on soldiers, policemen and teachers).
7- If the person is sitting on the edge of the chair, he is uncomfortable, is not self-confident or wants to go.
8- If the person is sitting his back touching the chair, he is ready to chat or comfortable.
9- If his head his looking to the floor, he is sorry or is not self confident.
10- If his head is straight, he is self-confident.
11- If he is shaking hands strongly (not too much) or he is shaking hands with two hands, he is a friendly person.
12- If he is shaking hands like he wants to take it back or too losely, he is not a very friendly person or not trustworthy.
13- If he can not look at you in the eye while telling something, he may be lying (This can sometimes change. In some regions of the world, people don't look at people they respect too much in the eye).
14- If his head is resting on his hand (his hand is standing on the table by the knee), this means he is bored.
Phone
Phone will probably be your main equipment on social engineering. On this equipment being female is a plus so on professional jobs voice changers (if you are not already female) can be beneficial, but if you can't find one, it is okay. Also some phreaking skills can help you much on this task. Phreaking can be considered as hacking of phone lines. You can get detailed information from SWG's text library. Generally social engineers use phreaking skills to prevent high phone bills that come because of hours of talking on the phone.
I suggest you to use public payphones as much as possible because you get traced back very easily. The only disadvantage of a public payphone is the noises which tells the person at the other end of the line that you are on a street and you probably won't be able to fool someone that you are calling from an office as long as that noise stays in the background. There is also something called as "prank calling" which is calling someone randomly and trying to talk as much as possible. Prank calling can really be fun - the only thing you need is a story (it is more fun if you have a trustworthy friend with you :-). You can tell that you are calling from xxx or you can ask for something etc. It is up to your imagination.
Letter
Sometimes, sending a letter can be much more efficient than phones. Many people would not think there is a problem with a letter coming from the bank, asking for something if it is just as always (the same format, same logo, same colors etc.). The main thing about this task is your ability to write formal letters. The most dangerous thing about this is that you'll need a mailbox to get the person's answers and if the person complains the police, they can catch you quite easily.
Secrets!
Many people tell many of their secrets to others on the Internet. Most of them don't even hesitate telling the most secret thing about themselves after some talk. Sometimes this can be used to get benefit. For example you can learn someone's nick secretly, find him/her and talk but don't forget to hide your real name and don't use the nick you always do. Also hide your IP if it is possible (on IRC, some servers have the option +x which doesn't let others to see your IP address. The command is /mode +x ).
Person to person/entering places
This is the hardest thing to do. Directly talking a person needs all your skills to be in a good level and also your physical appereance should fit to the situation. For example, if want to enter somewhere saying that you're the new security guard and you are twelve years old, no matter what equipment you have (identity cards, security guard suit, keys, etc.) or no matter how clever you are, the only thing you'll get from this is you'll be laughed at and you'll be given to the police, especially if you have the right equipment because they'll really wonder where you had stolen those information and equipment from. Also even somehow you successfully accomplish your plans and everything goes well, from that day, you'll be known by someone as someone else. Can you imagine what happens if you run into one of those people on the street while you are with your friends and they start talking about the time you were there? It can be a real disaster. So I don't recommend such a way. The things you should know about talking person to person are:
1- Be calm. You should be seen like you are doing an everyday job. Nothing special. Try to be like an average person in that community.
2- Don't go to anywhere without plans (also you should put enough effort into your plans. Fifteen minutes is NOT enough. You should plan to every detail - from you character's mother's name to what he ate yesterday. You shouldn't forget anything. Favorite color, where he has graduated from, favorite music, etc. Also you should have enough information about the person you are going to meet or the place you are going to enter. When you enter the building, you should already know the numbering system of the rooms, where the toilet is etc. To do this, you may try to have a test walk at a very crowded hour if it is a public place. Also watch out for the camera system.) but also know that the plan will never work without any problems.
3- If you are going to work with a group, make sure they are clever and trustworthy enough to work with. This is not a joke. You can have a long holiday behind the bars because of an idiot if he, for example, gets afraid and leaves yourself in a bad position and he may get away with everything. This is really important. If someone is your best friend or your brother, this doesn't mean that he is capable of doing such a thing. Also make sure you and your friends are trained enough for such a job.
4- Don't be too brave. You are not showing off, you are commiting a crime.
5- Getting caught by the police is not a "cool" thing. The only thing you can get from this is, only a few others and I will say "poor kid" for you and your life will be destroyed. Girls won't fall in love with you because you are a cool criminal.
Disclaimer: This guide is for education purposes only, and is not to be used, ever.
Bibliography: Most of the stuff and the bottom is pure copying, but 90% of this is summary / addons.
Social Engineering Stuff -- 
