Social Engineering Challenge 4: Less Than Legitimate

My task for this week was to fake an injury on the T and get someone to give me their seat because of it.

I knew this had to be done during a morning or afternoon rush, as I'd have the greatest chance of not finding already empty seats. Looks like I'm taking the train to work.

I pulled into North Station, and walked normally through the terminal. Once I had gone outside and could see the entrance to the subway, I paused to lean on a fence for a short time. When I was ready to start walking again, a whole new group of people would be around, none of whom would have seen me walking normally.

I've had a knee injury in the past, so I knew how to walk to make it believable. To sweeten the deal, I wore a brace under my jeans. I hobbled down the steps and through the faregate, and then into the elevator. The first green line train was fairly empty, so I rode to Copley and got off. By that point, most of the trains should have filled up at earlier stops.

I had to wait a few minutes, but one finally came through and it was PACKED. This was it. I hobbled on and found a man in a suit sitting close to the door. He was wearing headphones, so it took a bit to get his attention. Once I did, I took a little hop and winced before explaining that I'd recently had surgery. Before I could finish, he smiled and quietly stood up. I could see the look of pride on his face, like he felt he'd done his good deed for the day.

I half-sat, half-fell into the seat and sat quietly for the rest of the trip. Mission accomplished.

This was definitely one of the most unethical things I've done. I'm normally the one to preemptively give up a seat if I see someone board who needs it, so this one was difficult. I would never think of doing this on my own. I have no way of knowing if that man needed that seat and was just being nice. It's nice to know he'd likely do it again for someone who clearly needed a seat, though. A bit of faith in humanity was restored this morning.

As for what I could do with this, I learned that I can play off of someone's sense of pride. If, in a setting like a crowded train, someone asked if you'd let them have your seat, you're put on the spot. If you decline, you're a huge jerk. If you oblige, however, you know you'll look good, and everyone who sees the interaction is going to think highly of you, if even for a few seconds. It's a nice ego boost, and that can easily be exploited in public.

Difficulty of completing the task: moderate.
Difficulty of convincing myself I could complete the task: not at all easy.

- The Admiral