Provoking a Response
"I had promised myself I would leave my hands mud free, but after reading your tweet today which stated how; 'soon we will learn who in the media who has class, and who hasn't', has pushed me to this. That tweet was breathtakingly hypocritical, even for you. At no stage have you acted in a way that's even remotely classy, yet you believe that's the standard by which everyone should behave towards you? General Kelly will do a fine job. I'll even admit he will do a better job than me. But the way in which that transition has come about has been diabolical. And hurtful. I don't expect a reply."
The text above was sent to the newest ex-White House Communications Director Anthony "Mooch" Scaramucci by someone he believed was the newest ex White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and elicited a series of very impassioned and possibly incriminating reponses. The email was *actually* sent by a self-proclaimed anarchist whose twitter handle is Sinon_Reborn. This guy is a master at his craft, honestly. You have probably heard the term "phishing" to describe the mass-emailed attempts to dupe someone out of money with a poorly-written plea to help a Nigerian prince get his money out of Africa. "Spearphishing" is an extension of that, utilizing much more targeted and well-researched attacks against high value targets. You can generally take two tactics for spearphishing - either really research your victim and make the most convincing email you can or write something that is so provocative that the recipient pretty much *has* to respond. @Sinon_Reborn seems to be a master at the second tactic, and he is using his abilities to make a lot of people look extremely foolish. Were he a more malicious sort, he could use the same skills to defraud a lot of people by simply provoking that same response.
These social engineers manipulate you by saying things that make you respond emotionally. You might be excited about the promise of a financial windfall, or afraid of some situation where you might be taken advantage of, or angry at having your character defamed. They are all emotional responses and they betray us in this context. We are all vulnerable to this sort of manipulation, and the best defense is one of the least technologically advanced.
James 1:19 - Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
Just taking a moment to listen to what is being said and examine your natural response before reacting makes a world of difference in all communication formats.