William Tarkington discussed aspects of social engineering during his presentation at Security BSides San Francisco.
Tarkington presented an overview of the common techniques used by con men, psychics, spiritualists, and salesmen. The talk covered a wide range of cold, warm, subtle expressions, Barnum statements, selective memory, and body language.
Participants learned how and why cold reading works, when a warm reading is used, how to interpret body language, how to spot verbal techniques involved in these practices, and gained a working knowledge of the techniques involved in these processes.