The trick with spam – and some malicious software – is convincing people to open an email, click on a link or something else they wouldn’t normally do. Social engineering, when done well, means getting inside people’s heads and understanding their desires, fears and vulnerabilities.
It’s not always done well.
For instance, lately I have been receiving emails, about one a day, along the following lines:
Hi
It`s Rosalyn again. Will you ever contact me?
I made those nude pictures especially for you.
Phew, state-of-the-art social engineering there! The next day it was Jessie, not Rosalyn, but the message was the same.
Since this approach clearly hasn’t worked with me, the spammers thought they’d try a different approach.
Hi
It`s Cleveland again. Will you ever contact me?
Genius!