Social Engineering- tricks to get free stuff!

HG · Post by HG » 23 Oct 2004 03:55

Hey, have you guys ever heard of social engineering?

Have you heard of the book by Kevin Mitnick, The Art Of Deception?

i read that book last year, and its all about social engineering:

social engineering is using the nature of peoples minds to get what you went, wether it be information or money or food or whatever

tell about stories where you have gotten free stuff from using your "cunning"

heres my story(ies)

i do this one all the time, but this is the best one i did

i was at the high school foot ball game, and i felt ripped off because our team sucks, they went 0-9 for the season. so i go to the concession stand, stand there for 2 minutes, *and i dont ask for service* i let them come to me, that is the important thing. when they ask what i need, i said "i am just waiting for my pizza, reeses, and gatorade" so they go back and give me all of that for free, because they thought that i had already paid
this gave them the impression that i already paid because of the way i worded it, "i am waiting for......"
i have used this trick on concession stand around the world!!!!!! for a savings of about $40 total in this school year

you know those annoying commercials where you can get a 1 cent cell phone? you have to sign up for a shitty calling plan though, so its really not worth it. in the book he tellls how to get a free cell phone, and get a plan of your choice! you go to the store, talk to a manager about it, and get his name.

Call back a day later and talk to the manager again, you say how pleased you were with his service, and tell him that you are going to call the owner to compliment him. *you ask for the store number* Now you have the store number, and the name of the manager of your local store.
Call the same store in a different city, and say that you are _________ (the manager's name you stole) from __________ store number ___________
you then say that a customer (you) has bought a 1 cent cell phone, but we are out of stock. He must go to your store and pick up the cell phone.

this will allow you to get your cell phone, and take it to whatever company you want to get whatever plan you want.

I have typed enough, share your stories of social engineering!

crazydwarf · Post by **crazydwarf** » 23 Oct 2004 09:08

Ahhh a future con man in the making... but I usualy don't partake in this kind of thing so I got no stories...

HG · Post by HG » 23 Oct 2004 09:10

heh thx, but its not a con man. its a social engineer

lol but yea, i dont want to pay big bucks for food so i get it for free.

its not stealing, its just taking advantage of human nature!

dblthnk84 · Post by **dblthnk84** » 23 Oct 2004 09:23

It is stealing...

But for all you middle/high school kids heres some tricks for you. The first month is important to set a good impression with the teachers. If they get the impression that you're a good student than its easy to carry that over, even if you start slacking. Also its important that the janitors and other school staff recoginize you. It doesn't really matter if you know their names, just wave at them before they say anything to you and they'll just assume that you know. But if they're on your side there are all sorts of ways to abuse the school system.
________
iolite portable vaporizer

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 23 Oct 2004 09:56

Ya it's stealing, but there are good kinds of stealing.

If 'no one' gets hurt, like walmart is not going to go out of business if you walk out of the store wearing a few more pairs of pants than you walked in with. I don't like stealing from individuals, I would never do that, but if it is a huge faceless corporate machine then I see nothing wrong with it.

I am having trouble thinking of things I have done, I am likely going to buy that book though.

Great post Henry!

millenniumtree · Post by **millenniumtree** » 23 Oct 2004 13:25

Alright, first of all, shoplifting is bad. It's all well and good until you get caught, then it goes on your record, and you feel guilty about it forever. :P (like me)

And if you don't feel guilty about it, then you have no conscience.

HOWEVER, social engineering can be a useful way to get what you want. There are tons of ways to use such a skill to get something without paying for it, but that isn't really stealing. Lots of places give out things for free, or as gifts to encourage customers to come back, etc. You can start off getting pens, free samples, or whatever you like, and work your way up to larger items like free video rentals, discounts on just about anything, or whatever. Just be careful when you do it, as some places will remember you, write a strange note in your file, etc. I'm completely pants at social engineering, and haven't really tried much...

I have trouble speaking up and being forceful during telephone conversations, so whenever a telemarketter calls us, I practice on them, and try to get them to go away. I've gotten better at purposely interrupting people in mid-sentance this way.

Social Engineering can be completely fun, perfectly legal, and help you get things you want or need in life (for example, a much needed job interview.) It's good that you're studying such things early, but don't get too crazy and start using it for evil purposes, that can only get you in trouble. :P

Spadrick · Post by **Spadrick** » 23 Oct 2004 17:07

millenniumtree wrote:I have trouble speaking up and being forceful during telephone conversations, so whenever a telemarketter calls us, I practice on them, and try to get them to go away. I've gotten better at purposely interrupting people in mid-sentance this way.

So your the bastard that thinks its all fun and games! Damn you and your anti-telemarketing factions!

Just kidding, but seriously, you shouldn't take your shit out on someone that is working a dead end job and getting paid by comission. Best thing to do with telemarketers is say; "No thankyou" and hang up.

Then again, I wasnt really a telemarketer, more like a customer service agent. So, we might be thinking of two different things.

Being nice on the phone is a better skill to have then being a dick on the phone.

millenniumtree · Post by **millenniumtree** » 23 Oct 2004 21:25

Well when the lady calls me Mrs. Blair,
then I correct her "You mean Mr. Blair."
Then she says "yadda yadda, buy stuff... ma'am"
then I say. "Sir!"
then she says "blah blah blah telemarketting... blah blah... ma'am this ma'am that"
Then I say. "I'M NOT A WOMAN! I'M A MAN!! GOODBYE!!"
Then she says "........... click"

Well, it didn't go QUITE like that, but it was close.
Actually, I think she was still trying to sell me on whatever it was, even after I shouted at her... She was totally clueless, and very rude to me. It made me feel _REALLY_ good to shout at her. I'm thinking of shouting more often. heehee.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 23 Oct 2004 21:56

I have a cousin that worked in a Safeway for a while (Which is a very big supermarket chain) - I got free groceries for a few months

sPinko-Mania · Post by **sPinko-Mania** » 24 Oct 2004 02:28

mosher wrote:Ya it's stealing, but there are good kinds of stealing.

If 'no one' gets hurt, like walmart is not going to go out of business if you walk out of the store wearing a few more pairs of pants than you walked in with. I don't like stealing from individuals, I would never do that, but if it is a huge faceless corporate machine then I see nothing wrong with it.

I am having trouble thinking of things I have done, I am likely going to buy that book though.

Great post Henry!

As someone who has worked retail and knows people who work in chains: screw you man (that said you seem like a good guy in other threads Mosher, haha). Cause and effect doesn't just choose to stop happening all of a sudden when you 'stick it to the man' by stealing from particularly large stores. Stores made of up...Individuals.

While I normally have less sympathy for the owners of big conglomerate chain stores compared to owner/operators (because of the formers business practices) stealing has an impact. When big stores lose money to shoplifters then this means a few options become more and more attractive - laying off workers, giving them less hours and/or paying them less. That means people I know, and people who I would rather not lose their jobs. The loss of revenue from shoplifting also pushes prices up to offset the losses - individuals, like me end up paying extra for it. Insurance premiums are similar.

It amazes me how people don't seem to get the notion of 'being the change you want to see in the world'. This applies to both positive stuff like voting and charity to bad stuff like littering and shoplifting. If you want to look at the marginal difference of your vote, or a buck to charity, or throwing away a can or shoplifting a pairs of pants, then I think you've successfully missed the point (one of the points?) of Gandhi's quote.

It's true that large stores can soak up more loses since they are more profitable than owner/operatos, but the eat-the-rich ethos only goes so far -stealing from big stores isn't victimless, it just they arn't seen until you look at the second and third order impacts. Anyway, regardless of all this you don't have a right to steal shit from stores for the same reason you don't steal people from an individual person, you're going to run into the same ethical axioms surrounding private property at some point presumably - unless you're Jeremy

I mean I've stolen as well, but shit, candy coating it just makes it look bad

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 24 Oct 2004 03:29

spike man wrote: Anyway, regardless of all this you don't have a right to steal shit from stores for the same reason you don't steal people from an individual person, you're going to run into the same ethical axioms surrounding private property at some point presumably - unless you're Jeremy

Exactly! I'm special

Seriously though - I don't think much of a lot of what Ghandi believed. Just because he had one good belief doesn't mean they were all good. [Ghandi smear] - He believed in the Hindu caste system that is in my opinion a very fucked up thing explaining why rich people deserve to be rich and poor people deserve to be poor [/Ghandi smear]

A great quote I once saw on a skate board is:

"Don't hate the players - hate the game"

sPinko-Mania · Post by **sPinko-Mania** » 24 Oct 2004 04:41

Haha, hey you're the pacifist so you're closer to him ideologically than I am

The quote is still a good one though...I think in everyone people look up to -like Gandhi- you'll find some nasty traits, they just get overlooked and then a certain view of them gets cemented in history - Mother Teresa for instance.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 24 Oct 2004 06:24

sPinko-Mania wrote: It amazes me how people don't seem to get the notion of 'being the change you want to see in the world'. This applies to both positive stuff like voting and charity to bad stuff like littering and shoplifting. If you want to look at the marginal difference of your vote, or a buck to charity, or throwing away a can or shoplifting a pairs of pants, then I think you've successfully missed the point (one of the points?) of Gandhi's quote.

Oh you twat, as if you'd totally have to go and pull the Ghandi card and 'make sense'.

I am trying really hard right now to find an example of a loss free system.

I guess the books will always have to balance and if you draw out some income from one end it will eventually be felt at the other end.

ok, here is the kind of theft I employed the most last year and I think it is arguably just.

I am on a mealplan at school and that allows me access to the cafeterias so almost daily I would steal a loaf or two of bread. I was not greedily hoarding this bread, I would regularly give it to the starving homeless on the street. Now, if you follow the trickle down then you see that eventually the other strudents wind up footing the bill. I would be willing to bet that almost none of these people drop any change to the homeless downtown as they walk from the Gap to Starbucks. So my efforts have the net result of all those selfish kids picthing in a little.

Perhaps harmless?

Thank you for making your arguments sPinko-Mania, you opened my eyes and reminded me that perhaps stealing doesn't fit in very well with my being a nice guy all the time thing.

HG · Post by HG » 24 Oct 2004 07:38

you guys are going off on a tangent

[unhijackthread]

this is about social engineering, not stealing. stealing is when you physically just take something. social engineering is getting someone to get you something without them knowing it. you can not get in trouble for social engineering[/unhijackthread]

thanks

Whatsfootbag? · Post by **Whatsfootbag?** » 24 Oct 2004 09:05

oh man i do this all the time in my band class.my director,morgan,loves to talk and loves to hear his own voice,nobody else has realized you just have to giev him something to go off on,and then wham.free day,i go to sleep,rested up for the rest of the day(cuase i have it 1st period).Usually people will ask me to talk to him about a marching band comp,or a piece of music,or a song/video etc and get into an arguement/debate..after he's done debating with me,he debates with everyone else,and we all go to sleep yet he continues to talk

but yea never really gotten free stuff that way...ill have to think of some new ways to try it

HackingGanesh · Post by **HackingGanesh** » 24 Oct 2004 15:03

Ok, back on track because Henry is getting impatient. This trick works at fast food places, specifically Taco Bell, cause they have so many variations of stuff they cant tell if they give you the wrong thing.

Order your food, and show them your receipt. DONT give it to them, if they demand you do then fine, they'll just throw it out anyhow. Take your food and sit down, then go up without your tray and tell them they forgot "whatever food you want more of thats on your receipt". Be polite, dont demand anything. They'd rather give you want you want than deal with you for a while.

HG · Post by HG » 24 Oct 2004 15:18

nice trick brian, i have worked at mcdonalds for about a year, and your right, ,if people do that i dont care, cuz its not my money im losing. so i just give them what they want.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 24 Oct 2004 15:32

This is one for transport. Firstly try to get something that shows that you are from somewhere else - and thus don't know the system. This is not neccessary - but it's a good safety because the city/place is always trying to attract vistors to come spend money and giving you a fine because the public transport system was too complicated for your simple country brain will mean that you'll go home and say how shit the city is.

Whenever you are asked for a ticket - especially by inspectors - just show them an old one. They'll look at at - sometimes they'll even read it - but they won't realise how out of date it is. People who don't have a valid ticket say so or try and get away - 99% of tickets they get shown are valid so they probably won't even know what date they are looking for. This has saved me thousands of $$ in fines and ticket costs. If they do realise it's invalid (this has never happened to me) - tell them you're from the country and it's your first day in the city - don't give them a sob story. Also act confident - you know the ticket is valid...

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 24 Oct 2004 19:28

I just remembered one I use.

If I am buying some things I often open one up (a drink or bag of chips for example) and then when I am paying for the rest I just tell the cashier that I brought that item with me. They never ask for a receipt.

carl winslow · Post by **carl winslow** » 24 Oct 2004 19:32

wow, i dont see a difference between this and stealing. i think stealing is wrong, BUT it also reminds me a lot of my "do you sneak into movie theatres? thread.
it is stealing though, getting somthing without paying for it, is stealing. Jedi mind tricks used to greace free food is stealing.
downloading mp3s off the net- stealing!
you are all theifs! but so am i sometimes
i have a good trick for free bus rides but i dont think i wanna tell it cause it would lead to more stealing! THIEVES!!!