Social Engineering

A man that went by the name of Carlos Héctor Flomenbaum, had a stolen Argentinian passport and used his new identity to pose himself as a successful businessman. He gained the confidence and trust of the employees that worked at the ABM AMRO bank for about a year. He continued to do that by giving them chocolate boxes and staying friendly and building conversations. One day in 2007, they gave him access to security boxes that contained gems valued at 120,000 carats. That became one of the biggest robberies committed by a single person. 

Social engineers like Flomenbaum used his charm and kindness to get close to the user. But is also used his intuition to obtain data by just paying attention to the loose details that most wouldn’t look at. That way he can obtain all the information he needs without applying any pressure or forcing any information out of anybody. But by building a relationship with them he was able to get to a point where they felt comfortable enough to let their guard down,  He was able to steal at least 28 million dollars worth of diamonds without any weapons, violence or electronic devices. In this situation, it’s hard to prevent a breach when a human factor is involved because it is difficult to tell when or how they are going to attack, which leaves the system vulnerable. New training techniques should be put in place for employees so that they can be more aware of the loose information that is hanging around.