Social Engineering- tricks to get free stuff!

Iain · Post by **Iain** » 30 Oct 2004 07:28

but his story is much like the story of frank abegnale(sp?). This book is designed to help people prevent this kind of stuff.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 30 Oct 2004 07:28

He went to prison - last I heard he was a multi millionare businessman or something like that

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 30 Oct 2004 08:01

Really? Not according to This Site

Social Engineering = Making people do what you want, but in EVERY case i've seen/read about it, its used for stealing, or doing other things. Its wrong, its stupid. Hes in jail. Whats the point?

HG · Post by HG » 30 Oct 2004 08:32

he is not in prison because of this. He is in prison because he hacked a huge companies computer base. and it worked

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 30 Oct 2004 08:35

If it had WORKED, he wouldn't be in prison, would he? And social engineering is EXACTLY what he was doing when he was "hacking".

ps:I might come off as an asshole with this thread but im in an argumentative mood and opinionated today.

crazydwarf · Post by **crazydwarf** » 30 Oct 2004 11:04

I have to agree with you, even if it is not technicaly stealing, it is some form of theft which is defined as the wrongful taking of money or personal property belonging to someone else, with intent to deprive the owner of possession. I'm pretty sure you can be arrested or sued for this social engineering stuff. For instance in a real case a guy walked into the check out line with a box labled chandelier, but when the clerk asked to see inside it the guy walked back into the store left the box. He then left the store. They later checked the box and it was full of 900$ worth of stuff. The man was later arrested. This sounds like the stuff you guys are talking about. We are learning about it in law, so I thought I'd post it...

HG · Post by HG » 30 Oct 2004 14:30

yea whatever.

we were just trying to discuss and share, not get into moral values

crazydwarf · Post by **crazydwarf** » 30 Oct 2004 15:27

Yeh I have read the whole thread, and I agree it is not phisicaly taking anything, but that doesn't mean its not breaking the law. Con men don't use force to get money from victims but they can still go to jail. Granted this isn't nearly as bad, but just watch yourself guys.

qphox · Post by **qphox** » 30 Oct 2004 15:55

Yeah, Henry, okay. It's Social Engineering.

...but in the end, it's wrong. That said, if you're cool with doing it, do it.

Atom · Post by **Atom** » 14 Jan 2005 16:47

when I went to high school it was easy to go into the pizza shop and get 2 slices of pizza and 2 pops and only pay for one, when it was busy enough. so...that being said. one day that happened to me, except I asked for two and offered the guy $10, enough to pay for both, but he only charged me for one. the following day I payed him for two and took one. of course this he noticed and when I explained why, he was grateful and in return for the next 3 years he always held out on the freshest slices and always had my usual pop at hand for me(even if he had to hide it behind the coke) I've been out of school for 2 years and I still get treated great by the same guy.
I agree that social engineering may get you something for free, but honesty and some honor can get you something just as good, maybe even better.

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 14 Jan 2005 17:08

Atomic_FootOrgasm wrote:honesty and some honor can get you something just as good, maybe even better.

Word.

ted · Post by **ted** » 14 Jan 2005 17:40

C-Fan wrote: That said, here`s my completely hypocritical contribution to this thread. If you want to mail a letter for free within your country, just write the address you want to send it to in the `return address` upper left section of the envelope. In the section where you normally write the address, just write in any bogus address. Mail the letter without postage. The postal service then sends it to the `return address` address, with an `insufficient postage` message.

I used to use this trick but a few years ago my 'return addressees' started getting little notes from the post office saying they owed postage on an undeliverable item and that they could pick up their letter at the post office.

username · Post by **username** » 14 Jan 2005 19:28

qphox wrote:Yeah, Henry, okay. It's Social Engineering.

...but in the end, it's wrong. That said, if you're cool with doing it, do it.

yea and if your cool with rape and murder, do those too

qphox · Post by **qphox** » 14 Jan 2005 23:39

I suppose that's why people would, yes.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 15 Jan 2005 08:32

oh man, im so glad this thread is back. it used to be my favorite thread until it faded into the background. but, on to my main point.
if people are fine with pulling little tricks to get some free stuff (aka stealing), which i am, then they are going to do it. if they are fine with raping and murdering, then they will do that. i am not fine with that. but that doesnt mean it wont be done. i have no idea what my point is...hm. um...i guess what i could say is people will do bad stuff and not give a shit, and other people will always judge them and tell them that its wrong, and the people doing the bad stuff cant complain about people telling them that even petty theft is wrong. i mean, i agree that its completely wrong, but i dont give a shit. so, in conclusion......this post had no point to it in the least.

MegaFighter_X · Post by **MegaFighter_X** » 16 Jan 2005 13:30

B_Man wrote:
Atomic_FootOrgasm wrote:honesty and some honor can get you something just as good, maybe even better.
Word.

I'll second that

peanutbuterboy · Post by **peanutbuterboy** » 16 Jan 2005 19:13

Dude...i ride the bus all the time.
Pray tell.

junkyardjew · Post by **junkyardjew** » 17 Jan 2005 09:59

the exchanging trick works great in bookstores. i'm a book fanatic, and i can't stop reading old and new books. i used to shoplift like nuts from chapters, indigo and coles (the newly amalgamated enormous bookstore chain). it was so easy to just walk in and pick up two or three books, then walk out. in most malls, the people who work there are told NOT to stop shoplifters.

eventually I started stealing bigger and bigger things, until one day i noticed the store security guard had seen me, so i used my sly skills to return the book to the shelf, so when he stopped me outside, i didn't have anything on me. this event freaked me out so much, that i pretty much stopped stealing books.

Instead, i got a job at Coles! Were, of course, i used to take books home, read them in two days or so, then bring them back.

Anyway, the people on this thread who procraim loudly that "social engineering is not stealing" are self-justifying in a depressing way. just admit that you're stealing, and get over it. that's how the world works, and the more you steal, the better off your life gets (look at Ken Lay).

no, but seriously. I've all but stopped stealing, because when it comes down to it, the only things you can get by stealing are things you don't need. I don't need any more fucking "things", any more than i need fast food! The only restaurants i go to now are tiny familly owned ones. If you don't go to wal-mart, and you convince your friends not to go to wal-mart, that will make a MUCH bigger impact on their bottom line than stealing from them. And if you can close down wal-mart, the world becomes a better place.

also, to all those who would argue "what about the poor wageslaves who lose their jobs?" I would argue that the 'externalities' and damage caused by walmart operating, far outweigh the damage that would be caused by their closing.

peanutbuterboy · Post by **peanutbuterboy** » 17 Jan 2005 14:24

Oh...before you do the mail thing when you switch the destination and the place it came from so you dont have to pay postage, think about it.
Messing with the mail is a federal crime. A felony=on record forever and prison.
On the same note you can just put tape over the stamp so the machine puts the ink on the tape and then just pull the tape off and use the stamp again...but why.
There is this thing now its called Email.

crazydwarf · Post by **crazydwarf** » 17 Jan 2005 14:48

yeh, plus 35 cents or so to carry your letter all the way across the country's a pretty good price, I mean I wouldn't bring your mail to like NY for 35 cents