Social Engineering - Christopher Hadnagy [110]
Using scarcity mixed with other principles can also make the attack even deadlier. Either way, scarcity creates a desire and that desire can lead someone to making a decision he might regret later.
This was proven to me recently when a truck pulled into my driveway with a freezer in the back. This decently dressed young man approached my wife and explained that he is a meat salesman. He delivers meat to customers and was just about to head back to the office and saw her working in the yard. He began talking about meat prices and how expensive things are in the store. My wife is a very price-conscious shopper, so this built rapport. Plus he had a very pleasant southern accent and called her “ma’am” and was very respectful.
After a few minutes of talking, she blurts out the question that usually stops salesmen dead, “How much do you want?”
Without missing too much of a beat he says, “Listen, I have been selling these all day for $400 per box, but this is my last box. I would love to just go back to the office with an empty freezer and give you some high-quality meat in the meantime.”
Oh no, the last box! He told her before he only comes through once every two months. The desire has been raised, but my wife is no dummy. She knew she was being manipulated. She excused herself and came to get me.
He went through his spiel and laid on the scarcity thick. Of course, this type of an account can be a lesson on how to not fall for this tactic. The problem is that emotion gets involved. He sees that I have a grill outside that looks used, so he knows I love to cook outside and he plays on that. He then talks about the quality of meat and quickly makes comparisons to restaurant quality and what is in his boxes.
Many people could easily fall for the emotional aspect of his sales pitch. “What if it is his last one?” “He is right, this is much cheaper than eating out.” “He comes to me…I don’t even have to drive to the store.”
Instead, I whipped out a calculator and asked him for the amount for the two last boxes, divided by the weight and then asked my wife how much she normally pays per pound for a Delmonico or ribeye in the store. When her price came in lower by $3.00 per pound I simply just shut up. Now his emotions get involved. He scrambles to save face. He lowers his price by $150 off the bat. I again do the math and he is still $.50 more per pound.
He tries to talk about quality, convenience, and all those aspects that make it worth the $.50 more. I shift my posture and position to be away from him and to show disinterest. Without saying anything, he trails off at the end of a weak spiel and offers me another $50 off. I tell him, “Sorry, I just don’t think it’s worth it.”
He then does the classic mistake that shows how his claims of scarcity were false—he caves in more. “How much do you want to pay for these boxes?”
“I probably could do $100.”
“If you can give me $125 we can call it a deal.”
Now mind you a little bit ago he was at $400 per box and they were the last two in this area for two to three months. This should have been a bidding war for that value, but instead, I sent him packing with his two boxes of meat and no cash.
The lesson in this story for social engineers is that for scarcity to work it either has to be real, or you have to stick to your guns to give the appearance of reality.
People will perceive the value higher when something is really in need. A malicious example of this is how the petrol companies raised the