Social Engineering Task #10

Execution:

My task was to find out where a fellow player lives and take a picture of his/her home.  I did accomplish this and below is a picture of Red Doctor’s home:

 

 

Narrative/method:

My approach was to Google a few fellow players and found the most information on Red Doctor.  I could see Twitter posts, a LinkedIn profile, and a YouTube video posted by his father.  I then used Zaba Search to look up his address.  Prior to posting this, I emailed Red Doctor using the address I found on his LinkedIn profile to confirm if this is indeed his home which he confirmed.

  

Application:

I was able to learn a lot about Red Doctor from my research, where he grew up, his approximate age, what High School he went to, and some o his interests based on Twitter and LinkedIn.  From pictures online and knowing where he lives, a person could stage a meeting on the street in his neighborhood and pretend to be former classmate or acquaintance and strike up a conversation.  This could be anything from a distraction while an accomplice pickpockets him or something more elaborate such as “let’s go for coffee and I’ll tell you about this great financial opportunity you could be a part of!” (i.e. pyramid scheme).

 

Ethical reflection:

It’s amazing how much information can be teased out and put together based on our online activity and posts.  This exercise makes me want to completely unplug!  Social media has been a great way to keep in touch or reconnect with friends and family.  Had I been an old classmate that recently moved to the area, this would have been a morally correct activity to reconnect with Red Doctor.   However, a morally incorrect approach to this activity would be to learn about a person online and find out where they live with the intent of staging an accidental meeting for the purpose of committing fraud for financial gain.