Psychological Manipulation Techniques in Cybercrime and Its
Prevention Strategies
Yujia Li
School of Civil and Commercial Law, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing, China
Keywords: Psychological Manipulation Techniques, Cybercrime, Prevention Strategies.
Abstract: In the field of cybercrime, "psychological manipulation technique" is the means that criminals pre-fer to use.
It relies on the anonymity of the network environment and a wide range of information diffusion ability, the
use of human weakness to carry out fraud, extortion and other criminal behaviour, the personal safety of
individuals and social order caused a great threat. This project takes the psychological manipulation
technology of cybercrime as the research object, through literature analysis, case analysis and other research
methods, conducts in-depth research on the psychological manipulation technology of cybercrime, analyzes
its application in various types of cybercrime, and reveals its difficulties and hazards in dealing with it. Then,
countermeasures are formulated from the aspects of building a new firewall, three-dimensional innovation of
judicial mechanism, establishment of cooperative governance system, improvement of technology and
preventive measures, hoping to effectively prevent psychological manipulation technology in cybercrimes.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Background and
Significance
The psychological manipulation technique in
cybercrime refers to that in virtual space, criminals
induce the victims to produce wrong cognition or
emotional response through elaborate psychological
strategies and then carry out the criminal behavior.
This technique is extremely covert and efficient. The
background and significance of studying this
technology is that on the one hand, it can help
individuals crack the cognitive vulnerability, enable
the public to independently identify the psychological
manipulation logic of criminals, and build a cognitive
immune system to resist this manipulation. On the
other hand, it can help maintain social security and
rebuild social trust. In addition, it can promote the
interdisciplinary integration of law, psychology and
other disciplines. The law will usher in a revolution.
The traditional criminal law focuses on "behavior and
result", while the research on psychological
manipulation will promote "cognitive autonomy" as a
new legal interest. In the application of psychology,
the relevant defense strategies are directly
transformed from some classical theories of Asch's
conformity experiment and Mil-gram's obedience
experiment, which will have practical value. In a
word, in-depth study of psychological manipulation
techniques in cybercrime is not only an urgent need
to deal with real threats, but also an important
measure to promote social progress (Zheng, 2024).
1.2 Overview of Research Status at
Home and Abroad
Psychological manipulation techniques in cybercrime
have been a hot issue that has attracted much attention
in recent years. Scholars at home and abroad have
carried out in-depth research on it from many angles
such as psychology and criminology. Foreign
research started earlier, especially in Europe and the
United States, aiming at Internet fraud, social
engineering attacks and other behaviors, put forward
the theory of "social engineering", emphasizing how
criminals exploit human psychological weaknesses
(such as trust, fear, greed) to manipulate. Studies have
shown that attackers can break through victims'
psychological defenses in an average of 7 minutes by
constructing false identities and faking urgent
situations (Hadnett, 2021). For example, according to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
economic loss of online fraud in 2022 exceeded $10
billion, with the majority of cases involving
Li, Y.
Psychological Manipulation Techniques in Cybercrime and Its Prevention Strategies.
DOI: 10.5220/0014393700004859
Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Politics, Law, and Social Science (ICPLSS 2025), pages 593-599
ISBN: 978-989-758-785-6
Proceedings Copyright © 2026 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda.
593

psychological manipulation techniques, such as
impersonating an authority to induce victims to
transfer money. Recent empirical research further
reveals that 73% of successful online scams involve
emotional manipulation, specifically targeted attacks
on loneliness and empathy (Sasse et al., 2022).
However, domestic research is more combined
with localized cases, focusing on new fraud methods,
such as "killing pig plates" and fake investment (Qin,
2024). A study by the Institute of Psychology of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that through
emotional manipulation and false promises, criminals
make their victims become so dependent in a short
period of time that they lose their rational judgment.
Overall, domestic and international research shows
that the core of psychological manipulation
techniques is to exploit human weaknesses, and the
anonymity of the online environment and the speed
of information dissemination further magnifies this
harm.
1.3 Research Methods and Innovations
Combining theory and practice, this paper
comprehensively discusses the operation mechanism
and prevention strategy of psychological
manipulation technology in cybercrime. This paper
uses literature analysis to sort out the research results
on cybercrime and psychological manipulation and
summarizes the shortcomings and research gaps of
existing theories. Using the case study method, the
typical cybercrime cases in recent years (such as
"killing pig plate", impersonating public security law
fraud, etc.) are selected, and the psychological
manipulation methods of criminals and their effects
on different groups are deeply analyzed. The
innovation points are mainly reflected in the
following aspects: First, interdisciplinary, not limited
to the field of law, but the deep integration of law and
psychology. Second, it is old and new, and puts
forward some innovative solutions, such as the
establishment of cognitive speed bumps based on
psychological principles and the empowerment of
authority with science and technology.
2 PSYCHOLOGICAL
MANIPULATION
TECHNOLOGY IN
CYBERCRIME
2.1 Psychological Manipulation
Techniques Embody the Subjective
Aspects of Crime
Criminal responsibility shall be borne for intentional
crimes. The use of psychological manipulation
technology in cybercrime not only reflects the
technical ability of the perpetrator, but also reflects
the intention or negligence of the subjective aspect.
According to Article 14 of the Criminal Law of the
People's Republic of China, an intentional crime is
committed when a person knows that his or her
actions will cause social harm and hopes or allows
such results to occur, thus constituting a crime. And
Article 15. A person who should have foreseen that
his conduct might have consequences harmful to
society, but failed to do so because of his negligence,
or believed that such consequences could have been
avoided because he had foreseen them, shall
constitute a crime of negligence. Criminal
responsibility for a negligent crime shall be borne
only if it is prescribed by law. 14. According to this,
the subjective aspects of crime include intent and
negligence. In cybercrimes, the subjective aspect is
usually intentional, especially in cases involving
psychological manipulation techniques, where the
perpetrator's subjective malice is more obvious. The
intention of crime is composed of two factors: the
cognitive factor (knowing) + they will factor
(therefore committing).
2.1.1 Psychological Manipulation Technique
Reflects the Intention of the
Perpetrator
The actor must have certain professional knowledge
to use psychological manipulation techniques. The
behavior-result chain is as follows: the perpetrator
carefully designs the psychological strategy -- the
victim is induced to have false cognition -- the
perpetrator uses this to commit the crime. In this
process, the actor knows that his behavior is illegal
and hopes or allows the harmful result to occur. For
example, in a "phishing attack", the perpetrator
creates a fake email or website address to trick the
victim into clicking on it, providing their personal
information or transferring money directly. This
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behavior is a direct manifestation of the perpetrator's
intent.
2.1.2 Psychological Manipulation
Techniques Reflect the Illegal Purpose
of the Actor
The perpetrator uses psychological manipulation
technology in the process of cybercrime, usually to
achieve the purpose of illegal possession, destruction,
interference and so on. In addition to the well-known
illegal acquisition of property, there are other illegal
purposes. For example, in a social engineering attack,
the perpetrator poses as a trusted third party in order
to gain the victim's trust and gain access to
confidential information. The perpetrator has a clear
illegal purpose in the process of carrying out the
psychological manipulation technique, which
conforms to the subjective component of the crime.
2.1.3 Psychological Manipulation
Techniques Enhance the Subjective
Malignancy of Behavior
The use of psychological manipulation techniques not
only reflects the intention of the actor but also
enhances the subjective malignancy of the behavior.
The perpetrator implements psychological
manipulation technology and makes full use of the
needs and psychological weaknesses of the victims to
carry out network crimes. This behavior has a high
concealment and causes greater psychological harm
to the victims. Therefore, in judicial practice, the use
of psychological manipulation technology can be
regarded as an important basis for identifying the
subjective malignant degree of the perpetrator.
2.2 The Application of Psychological
Manipulation Technology
2.2.1 Psychological Manipulation Means in
"Killing Pig Plate" Fraud
In the beginning, the perpetrator creates a personable,
successful person who contacts and interacts with the
victim frequently, shares his life experiences, and
cares about the victim's emotions. Over time, the
victim's trust in the perpetrator will grow. After a
certain amount of affection and trust has accumulated,
the criminal will get down to business. They will say
that they are good at investing, that they have done
certain things that are guaranteed to win, produce fake
screenshots of profits, describe a bright future where
they can easily make a lot of money, and ask their
victims to put their savings into fake investment
platforms without thinking about it until they lose all
their money (Xu & Li, 2024). In addition, in this
process, the criminals will also use the "push and pull
technique" to control the emotions of the victims,
sometimes enthusiastic and sometimes indifferent, so
that the victims in emotional fluctuations, more and
more want to get attention and recognition, so that
more and more trapped.
2.2.2 Psychological Manipulation Means in
the Fraud of Impersonating Public
Prosecutors
In this type of fraud, criminals take advantage of
people's fear and deference to legal authority. They
will pose as police officers, other public prosecutors
and government officials, tell the identity of the
victims seriously, and then fabricate the alleged
money laundering charges of the victims and forge
relevant documents to create a tense and strict law
enforcement atmosphere, causing the victims to panic
and think that they are involved in some "big case"
and must cooperate with the investigation (Supreme
People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China,
2020). Later, the other party would use the secret of
the case as an excuse to ask the victim not to contact
the outside world and ask the victim to transfer the
money into the so-called "safe account". Because of
the fear of being punished by the law, the victims are
panicked and often follow the instructions of the other
party directly.
2.2.3 Psychological Manipulation on Social
Platforms
The huge user base and the fast speed of information
dissemination make social platforms a major disaster
area for "psychological manipulation". Fraudsters
take advantage of the social functions of social
platforms to communicate with netizens under false
names. In addition to emotional induction, they also
spread fake lottery messages within the group,
claiming that they are randomly selected and have a
chance to win big prizes, provided that they pay
certain fees and deposits (Li, 2023). They took
advantage of the greed of some people and the false
information that others in the group had "successfully
claimed" to lure victims to transfer their money. In
addition, they often make inflammatory remarks to
incite users to antagonize each other, while they fish
in the rough waters to spread malicious links or obtain
personal information.
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3 PSYCHOLOGICAL
MANIPULATION IN EMAIL
Criminals often send a well-designed, deceptive
email to the victim. Or posing as a bank or a well-
known company, the victim is asked to open an
account, fill out personal information, or make a
transaction directly. The emails, often using official
logos and fonts, mimic a normal letter format and can
be confusing. Some are subject lines such as "urgent
notice" or "important document", designed to create a
sense of urgency that people will not open them.
When users clicked on the link, they could be directed
to a fake site, where data could be leaked or money
stolen.
3.1 Increasingly Difficult to Deal with
the Support of Science and
Technology
The rise of artificial intelligence and big data
technology has provided criminals with more
accurate criminal tools. They use algorithms to dig
deep into the vast amount of information about users
on social media platforms. By analyzing users' posts,
likes and comments, and browsing history, they can
map out users' interests, hobbies, and financial status,
and then pinpoint their psychological weaknesses.
For example, in some online scams targeting specific
consumer groups, criminals design seemingly high-
end investment scams targeting people who are keen
on luxury consumption based on big data analysis,
taking high returns as the bait, and taking advantage
of their desire to increase their wealth. Past studies
using data mining techniques to analyze a large
number of online fraud cases have clearly shown that
psychological manipulation techniques have become
more sophisticated with the help of technology, and
the camouflage of criminal acts has become stronger,
which is difficult to cope with traditional prevention
methods (Huang, 2023).
3.2 Undermining the Social Trust
System
The frequent success of psychological manipulation
techniques of cyber crimes has dealt a heavy blow to
the social trust system. The exposure of online fraud
cases will trigger a chain reaction within the society.
The victims not only suffer financial damage, but also
leave an indelible psychological trauma. After
witnessing these cases, people around them develop
fear and distrust of the Internet environment. In terms
of social networking, people are wary of strangers'
active communication, and their normal social
interaction is hindered. In the field of e-commerce,
consumers have doubts about the security of online
transactions, so many people reduce or even give up
online shopping. This lack of social trust greatly
reduces the advantages of convenience and efficiency
of the network society, seriously affects the healthy
development of the network ecology, and increases
the cost of social operation.
3.3 Legal Supervision Is in Trouble
At present, there are many loopholes in the legal
supervision of psychological manipulation
techniques of cyber crimes. The transnational and
virtual nature of cybercrime, coupled with the hidden
characteristics of psychological manipulation
techniques, make traditional laws unable to deal with
such crimes. The legal systems of different countries
and regions differ significantly in terms of the
definition and jurisdiction of cybercrimes. In cross-
border cybercrimes, criminals often take advantage of
these legal differences to move between different
jurisdictions and evade legal sanctions. For example,
some online fraud groups set up their servers in
countries with looser laws and regulations to defraud
residents of other countries, making it extremely
difficult for law enforcement departments to track
down and arrest them. At the same time, for the
specific identification standards of psychological
manipulation techniques, the legal level has not yet
formed a clear and unified standard, and the rules of
evidence collection are not perfect. As a result, it is
difficult for law enforcement departments to
accurately determine criminal acts in the actual
process of case handling, and the collected evidence
may not be effectively used to charge crimes due to
the lack of clear rule support, which seriously
weakens the deterrent power of law against
psychological manipulation technology of cyber
crimes.
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596

4 COUNTERMEASURES
AGAINST PSYCHOLOGICAL
MANIPULATION
TECHNIQUES IN CYBER
CRIMES
4.1 Build a New Firewall
4.1.1 Build Cognitive Speed Bumps
In his 2011 book Thinking: Fast and Slow, American
cognitive psychologist Daniel Kahneman
systematically proposed and popularized an
important theory in psychology and cognitive
science, the dual System theory. This theory reveals
an important point, that is, human cognition and
decision making depend on two different thinking
systems, and there is a game between the intuitive
system and the rational system when human beings
make decisions. The cognitive dissonance theory,
formally proposed by American social psychologist
Leon Festinger in 1957, also shows that when an
individual holds two or more contradictory mental
cognitions at the same time, psychological tension
and discomfort will result from the dissonance. The
perpetrator will use this dissonance to force the victim
to act and block rational thinking. Cybercriminals use
interface design to create cognitive shortcuts that
induce the user into an intuitive decision-making
mode. For example, phishing websites deliberately
imitate visual symbols used by authorities to trigger
users' heuristic judgments. Therefore, Internet users
need to establish "cognitive speed bumps" to activate
the rational system. If a link pops up in a phishing
email, for example, users may be able to avoid being
tricked if they take the time to check the details.
Cognitive speed bumps act like brake pads for the
brain, and are effective against the elaborate mental
traps laid by criminals. Internet users can set
themselves a short cooling-off period, such as 12
hours. In this way, the psychology can temporarily
enter the buffer period, there is enough time to think
and decide whether to take action, and the emotions
such as impulse blindness, panic and tension are
blocked from the door of reason.
4.1.2 Empower Authoritative Certification
with Science and Technology
The obedience experiment carried out by the famous
American social psychologist Milgram in 1961-1963
overturned people's cognition that "evil comes from
individual evil", emphasized the shaping power of
situation and authority on behavior, and effectively
proved that the authority symbol can make 65% of
subjects carry out orders that violate morality. The
"Internet police" certificates and "court" notices
forged by criminals make use of this psychological
mechanism. The solution lies in reshaping the
authoritative authentication system and establishing a
dynamic verification channel. A typical example is
Singapore's digital signature system for government
services, which is based on blockchain technology
and has made authority symbols unforgeable,
reducing impersonation crimes by 73%. It can be seen
that science and technology are the key to building an
authoritative authentication system. If more energy
and funds can be invested in the technical research of
authoritative certification, it will reduce the frequency
of network crime cases.
4.1.3 Social Support Systems for
Coordinated Defence
The American psychologist Solomon Asch conducted
a conformity experiment from 1951 to 1956. At the
heart of the experiment was the question of how
group pressure affects individual judgment. The
results showed that 75 percent of participants
followed the group's wrong answer on at least one
trial; About a third obeyed the group pressure and
chose the wrong answer all the time. Cybercriminals
falsify social credentials to create false consensus. To
do this, a network of trusted social credentials is
needed. The resilience theory also emphasizes the
central role of social support in coping with stress. A
complete and effective network neighborhood watch
system can be established to trigger community early
warning when an individual's network abnormal
operation is detected. For example, the Bank of Japan
implemented the "transfer community confirmation"
system, which successfully blocked about 83% of
acquaintance fraud through the cross-verification of
three social contacts. This distributed trust network
reconstructs "village protection" in the digital age.
4.1.4 Three-Dimensional Innovation of
Judicial Mechanism
If possible, it may consider adding a new crime to
Chapter 6 of the Criminal Law in the future, that is,
the crime of illegal psychological manipulation. To
clarify its objective requirements include: (1) the use
of systematic psychological intervention techniques;
(2) continuous implementation of cognitive distortion
behavior; (3) the victim's ability to make autonomous
decisions is impaired. The subjective element needs
Psychological Manipulation Techniques in Cybercrime and Its Prevention Strategies
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to prove that the perpetrator has a direct intention to
manipulate the will of others.
In terms of evidence rules, we can try to establish
a "psychological trace identification" system, and
authorize judicial identification institutions to
conduct psychological analysis of chat records and
behavior patterns with the assistance of psychological
authority departments to confirm whether there are
manipulative interaction characteristics (Ministry of
Public Security of the People’s Republic of China,
2019).
4.2 Design a Sentencing Gradient
Model
In view of this possible new crime, it is suggested to
divide the harmful consequences into three
quantitative standards: the first is to cause serious
mental disorders or suicide consequences, sentenced
to more than five years of imprisonment; Secondary
causes impairment of social function for more than
three months and is sentenced to fixed-term
imprisonment of not more than three years. If level
three is potentially dangerous but does not cause
substantial damage, he shall be sentenced to criminal
detention or public surveillance(Supreme People’s
Court of the People’s Republic of China, 2020).
When sentencing, the degree of specialization of
technical means should be comprehensively
considered, and those who use psychological
professional methods to implement manipulation
means should be severely punished, reflecting the
evaluation principle of "technological malice".
4.3 Innovate Judicial Identification
Standards
It can also make innovations in judicial determination
standards. It is suggested that the Supreme People's
Court should issue a special judicial interpretation to
clarify that the identification criteria of
"psychological manipulation behavior" should meet
both: (1) the behavior pattern conforms to the
psychological manipulation theory model; (2) there is
an obvious power dominance relationship; (3)
cognitive dependence results. In terms of proof
standards, the compound identification model of
"dominant evidence + expert assistance" can be
adopted, allowing the use of big data behavior
analysis reports as evidence reinforcement.
4.4
Establish a Collaborative and
Co-Governance System
First of all, we will establish an inter-departmental
coordination mechanism to enable close cooperation
among public security, judicial, cyberspace and
financial departments. With their advantages in
investigation, public security departments are
responsible for investigating cases and arresting
criminals. Judicial departments provide legal support
to fight crimes and ensure fair and lawful trials;
Internet and information departments use
professional technology to help monitor cybercrime
clues and track criminals' online movements; The
financial sector plays a key role in the upward flow of
funds, cooperating to intercept the flow of funds
involved and prevent victims from suffering greater
losses. All departments hold joint meetings regularly
to discuss the difficulties in the process of case
detection, share experience, formulate targeted
coping strategies, and form joint forces in the fight
(Feng, 2023). At the same time, the training of
professional quality law enforcement personnel has
been strengthened. We will organize special training
on psychological manipulation techniques, invite
psychological experts to interpret criminal
psychology, and network security technicians to
explain the latest means and tracking technology of
cybercrimes. In addition, it will carry out
international cooperation, participate in various
activities of international law enforcement platforms,
establish transnational cybercrime information
databases, break geographical restrictions, and jointly
crack down on cross-border cybercrimes.
4.5 Improve Technology and
Preventive Measures
Increase investment in research and development of
artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies
in the field of anti-fraud, use artificial intelligence
algorithms to monitor interactive information on
social platforms, detect suspicious emotional
induction, misleading information and other signs of
psychological manipulation in a timely manner, and
issue early warnings. For example, an intelligent
monitoring system developed by a research and
development team of anti-fraud technology, through
the study and analysis of a large number of online
transaction data, can send an alarm at the moment of
abnormal transactions, and effectively intercept a
number of online fraud cases (Zhang & Zheng, 2023).
Strengthen the supervision of online platforms so that
they can effectively fulfill their main responsibilities;
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Strengthen the review of information on platforms,
establish a strict content review mechanism, and filter
out false and fraudulent information. Improve the
real-name authentication system, strictly verify users'
identities, and reduce the existence of fake accounts.
5 CONCLUSION
Psychological manipulation technology in
cybercrime is the product of cognitive weaponization
of criminal means in digital age. Its essence lies in
using human weakness and cognitive deviation to
carry out precise attack. This paper reveals the
operation logic of psychological manipulation
technology from an interdisciplinary perspective and
puts forward a three-in-one comprehensive response
framework of "spiritual resistance, legal regulation
and technical defense". At the spiritual level, the
construction of cognitive speed bumps and
distributed trust network realizes the upgrade from
individual defense to group immunity; At the legal
level, "illegal psychological manipulation crime" is
added and a three-level sentencing model is
constructed, which breaks through the limitations of
traditional criminal law on behavior characterization
and harm quantification, and brings "cognitive
autonomy" into the scope of legal interest protection.
At the technical level, innovative means such as
blockchain authentication and AI monitoring and
early warning provide tool support for authority
empowerment and risk interception. However, the
improvement of the governance system still faces
challenges from accelerating technology iteration and
difficulties in cross-border forensics. Future research
should further explore the application of neuroscience
in judicial expertise and build a transnational
collaboration mechanism. Only through the multi-
dimensional cooperation of law, technology and
psychology can we build a "digital Great Wall" to
resist psychological manipulation technology in
cybercrimes, and provide a solid guarantee for
individual rights and interests and network ecological
security.
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