Social Engineering Blogs

Below are some comments regarding the videos, of Mark Hacking & Susan Smith, individuals whose loved ones went missing.

In our original blog on this topic, Humintell noted that at times truth and deception have similar qualities and can be very hard to distinguish from one anther.  There are many things to take into consideration when trying to evaluate truthfulness and detect deception.

We emphasize looking for inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal statements, which we call Hot Spots.

As you seen in the videos from our original post, there is a very prominent discrepancy between Susan Smith’s words and her facial expressions.  However, with Mark Hacking it is a little more subtle.

Hacking admitted to murdering his wife as she slept, while duping the public into believe that she had disappeared while she had been running early in the morning.  He had been lying to his wife and everyone else about attending and graduating from the University of Utah and being accepted to medical school.  It is purported that his wife, Lori, found out, which is why she was murdered.

To many people, Hacking appeared to be genuinely sad.

However, sometimes what you don’t see could be a red flag

Hacking’s voice doesn’t consistently crack throughout the interview(relly in just one spot) , compared to other individuals pleading for their loved one’s return. There is no eyebrow movement when he starts to “cry” at the end. He’s not smiling (which you can contrast with Smith who has a slight smirk throughout her video), but he doesn’t really look genuinely sad either.

He seems fairly emotionless and coupled with all the other signs (or lack there of) it is not very convincing for a trained observer.   Even with his sunglasses on, the man standing behind Hacking has a more genuine expressions of sadness on his face.

Smith, on the other hand, tries to seem sad but it is not believable.  When she “cries” at the very beginning and her voice cracks, there are no true signs of sadness found in her facial expressions.  There are no tears, and her eyebrows are not raised.

In slow motion it is obvious that she is smiling especially in the middle of the video when she says she “hasn’t seen anything”.  Her eyes seem to be smiling trying to hold back the fact that she can’t keep a straight face because she knows she is lying.  At the end of the video you can even see a slight smirk.  Her facial expressions obviously do not match her words or tone.

It is obvious from these videos that some people are better at faking emotions and controlling emotions than others, both Mark Hacking and Susan Smith were convicted of murder.

This is why it is so difficult to become very competent at detecting deception especially without continuous practice and training.

NOTE:  You can watch the videos in slow motion if you pause the video and then use your right keyboard arrow to move forward.

Did you see anything else? Share your comments on these cases with the Humintell Community!

In a past blog, A Look at the Truth, Humintell reported on distinguishing features of truth tellers & liars.  Following are remarks from the original blog as well as videos that illustrate the importance of microexpressions and nonverbal behavior.

Dr. Matsumoto has stated that it is equally important  to determine truthfulness when trying to detect deceit.  Based on scientific research done in the field of detecting deception, we know that there are both accurate and inaccurate cues to focus on when trying to decipher a lie from the truth.

 Cues to deception occur through many channels including facial expressions of emotion, microexpressions, gestures, verbal style and verbal content as well as other cues. 

Remember that there is NO Pinnochio effect– that is, there is not 1 reliable clue to deception, which alone can determine whether or not someone is lying.  Things such as fidgeting, eye gaze, lack of eye contact, scratching of the nose and excessive blinking by themselves are not 100% foolproof ways to detect deception. See common misconceptions about microexpressions. 

Humintell emphasizes looking for inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal statements, which we call hot spots. For example, if you see someone say the words “I love you” and then you see a microexpression of disgust on their face, this is a hot spot.  However, 1 or 2 hot spots doesn’t necessarily mean deceit especially if they are expressed when discussing different topics.

The video below is of a woman named Erin Runnion. Her daughter Samantha was kidnapped outside their home. The raw emotions are powerful!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Compare Runnion’s emotions, behavior and facial expressions to that of Diane Downs, a mother whose children were shot, two survied and one died:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Although Downs never admitted to committing the act herself, she was convicted of murder & attempted murder by the testimony of her daughter whom she shot in the face.