Trust

In plain terms

What reaches you looks like what you know: the name of someone close, your bank's logo, an almost exact address. The resemblance stands in for proof.

Definition

Trust is the exploitation of the signs by which we usually recognize who we are dealing with — display name, visual identity, address, conversation history — signs that can all be reproduced.

Why it works

We almost never authenticate: we recognize. It is a necessary shortcut, since checking every message would be impractical, and it works because most messages are genuine. The attacker breaks nothing: they manufacture the signs of recognition. A sender name is a free-text field, a text message label can be chosen, a caller's number can be spoofed, a profile photo can be copied. The hardest case is when the trust is real — a genuine account that has been compromised — because then no sign is false.

What resists it

Check the channel rather than the content: take another route. Calling a number you already had, opening the official app, using a bookmark — these steps need no expertise and work even when the message is perfectly imitated.

The question to ask yourself

“Do I recognize this person, or only the signs that point to them?”

The 68 attacks that exploit it

Other levers · Last updated: 2026-09-02.