[JoeAltmaier]

Why would a car mechanic ever get in an accident? Why would a doctor get sick?

Likely the expert was manipulated by the caller, lulled by the caller pushing all the right buttons, until they said or did something they shouldn't.

Like all the rest of us.

[hrunt]

These make analogies make no sense. The author is a self-described expert in fraud and security. It's totally reasonable to ask why he didn't use base-standard advice like, "Don't accept incoming calls," and "Don't give an incoming caller information about your card." This is basic security stuff we tell our parents and grandparents.

The analogy is more like, "Why would a car mechanic put a part in his car that he didn't choose himself?" or "Why would a doctor take pills some rando on the street gave him?" Most people would look at that car mechanic or doctor and think, "How good a mechanic or doctor are you?"

Yes, the expert was "manipulated", but only in the sense that when his "CU" called him, he didn't heed the initial advice experts give everyone -- hang up and call the number of the CU directly.

That said, I'm not piling on him. His article provides a great lesson about how easy it is to ignore one's own advice and knowledge and what the consequences can be. In this case, he /knew/ the right thing to do, but he also knew so much about how the systems worked that he ignored the base knowledge because he thought he "knew" what was happening. In a way, he manipulated himself.

[infotapeworm]

If you read the story, he was caught off guard. The fraudster dropped information on him while vulnerable, perhaps acting off a tip. They capitalize on lapses of reason and judgement.

I would call myself an expert in scams / cons with online activity, however I myself was recently scammed during the holiday season. Physically rather than digitally though with one of those fake gold cons employing a variety of different tactics. They caught me off guard in a variety of ways by being parked off a rural Country highway early in the morning (6 am). I pulled over to see if they needed any help and the guy instantly approached my car where I was even more flustered. Point is, scams all seem ridiculous after the fact, but these people are not fools when it comes to social engineering, applying pressure, and taking advantage of the holes in the swiss cheese.

Many variables would've had me on high alert in my situation, but even being the "expert" I am, I fell victim. It's always easy to look back after the fact, or even after you have a few seconds to breathe. They play on immediacy / urgency often, and intentionally try to paralyze you in a sense.