A former CIA spy has opened up about a simple trick to making just about anyone trust you.

Have you ever met a person and instantly felt at ease in their presence? Some people have a seemingly God-given ability to get people to open up to them and spill their darkest secrets within minutes of meeting.

You may have assumed that charisma is a trait they were born with - or they might be employing a CIA-backed trick to building up your trust without your knowledge.

Andrew Bustamante, a former CIA agent, entrepreneur, and author, has revealed there may be a way to become the person that everyone feels comfortable opening up to.

He revealed that there is a “scary but simple” rule the CIA operates by: “You are either in control or under control - there is no other option.”

Bustamante was 27 years old when he was recruited by the CIA, and says that prior to joining, he’d always thought he was good with women, but soon realized he was a “dumba**” because “I spent most of my time talking about me, my history, my experience, my qualifications, my ideas.”

Revealing the key thing he learned to making people trust you, Bustamante explained: “The CIA taught me that there’s a very simple process to rapidly build trust and influence in other people and that process involves asking two questions and then making one validating statement.

“After that validating statement, you repeat the same cycle again. And that the process of asking questions and validating other people’s ideas subconsciously makes the other person think that you are like them and it makes them feel like they are interesting and they are important and they are relevant, and then they have a dopamine rush that makes them feel good being around you.”

He revealed that he usually starts off with questions that are relatable to the person he is speaking to, in order to build up an instant rapport and make the person feel seen and understood by asking follow-up questions.

While he might use this for picking up women, there can be many other instances where this could be seriously useful.

And he also revealed that by using the method, he manages to learn all about the other person while giving away far less about himself by steering the conversation toward delving deeper into questions about them instead.

So if you ever find yourself divulging more than you usually do to a stranger at a bar, and wondering why and how they made you comfortable enough to do so, they might just be using CIA-approved techniques to get you to open up.

Featured image credit: YouTube./Andrew Bustamante

A teenager who hacked the Twitter accounts of some of the most prominent figures in the world has been sentenced to three years in prison.

According to The Guardian, 18-year-old hacker Graham Ivan Clark, who hails from Florida, infiltrated a number of Twitter accounts of major celebrities and organizations on July 15, 2020.

Court documents report that the teenager managed to attain approximately $117,000 as a result of the scheme, which constituted a major and distressing security breach.

According to The Tampa Bay Times, other victims of Clark included the Twitter accounts of President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg, Warren Buffet, Floyd Mayweather, Kim Kardashian, as well as the official accounts of a number of other corporations.

Clark then issued spam tweets from the above accounts, which read: "I am giving back to the community. All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back doubled!

"If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000. Only doing this for 30 minutes ... Enjoy! [sic]"

As a result of the mass account hijacking, Twitter engineers were forced to suspend all verified accounts from sending tweets for a number of hours while they worked to secure the platform.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Clark, who was a 17-year-old Gaither High School senior when he committed the crimes, was arrested several days later. His stolen cryptocurrency was also returned to its owners.

Police investigators later determined that he had managed to access Twitter’s systems by convincing an employee he worked in the company’s information technology department, before breaking into the company’s customer service portal.

In a virtual court appearance from Hillsborough County jail on Tuesday, March 16, Clark pleaded guilty to state charges and agreed to accept a juvenile sentence. He will now serve time in a state prison designated for young adults.

The Times reports that Judge Christine Marlewski also barred Clark from using computers without permission and supervision from law enforcement, and ruled that he will have to submit to searches of his property and give up the passwords to any online accounts he controls in the future.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Someone planning the murder of their parents to get to their riches is a familiar story. Not because it happens all the time, but because there are so many plays, novels and movies made about the subject. While it's a compelling story to follow in fiction, we don't expect that anything like it plays out in real life.

So if you've got incredibly wealthy parents, a desire to claim your inheritance early, and no qualms about ending a human life, what exactly do you do? In the case of this man, living in Sochi, Russia, he made a plan and hired a contract killer to do the dirty work for him. At least, that's what he thought was happening...

While the 22-year-old thought he was going to pull off the scheme, his plans were foiled when an undercover police officer posed as the hitman in question. After they were alerted to the threat, the police enlisted his parents to pose for photos, staging crime scenes to convince the son he had been successful in his goal.

An undercover policeman played the role of the hired assassin, who was 'hired' to bump off his father, mother, and 10-year-old sister. The son drew a floor plan for the 'assassin', indicated where the security cameras were and how to avoid the guard dogs. The deal was that he demanded photo evidence of the bodies before he would give any money over, which is why they chose to orchestrate the 'deaths'.

The parents, devastated that their son would do this, agreed to help the police, posing with fake blood as if they had been shot by the hitman. After the 'assassination' took place, the officer showed him the photos, at which point he agreed to pay him a sum of $53,000, which he said he would pay as soon as he collected the inheritance.

It was at this point that he was detained by armed police. He immediately confessed to the crimes, at which point it was revealed he had actually attempted this to kill his parents twice before.

A police source said:

"He wanted to get rid of his parents because they were not giving him money. Before looking for a killer he tried to get rid of his relatives twice.

"He was looking on the internet to find out how to carry out the murders. The criminal wanted to put pills in the kettle to poison his parents but his father found out something was wrong.

"Then the son planned to break a thermometer in his parents' car so that they were poisoned with mercury vapours. But he got cold feet."

Once he had been detained he confessed to planning the killings far in advance. "I had been planning it for several months," he told the officers. "I'm so done with them, they didn't understand me, so I found a contract killer."

He faces 15 years in jail if he's convicted of plotting the contract killings.

A 21-year-old from Midlothian, Texas has been hit with a federal terrorism charge after allegedly handing over bomb-making materials and money to someone he thought was working for ISIS - only to find out it was an undercover agent.

John Michael Garza, Jr. was arrested shortly after a December 22 meeting, where officials say he provided explosive components and explained how to build a bomb, per the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors claim Garza believed he was helping an ISIS "brother" but was instead dealing with law enforcement.

Garza also allegedly promised to send a how-to video and explained how to pack the device with nails for maximum damage.

Officials praise law enforcement’s fast action

Attorney General Pamela Bondi didn’t mince words. “This case is a testament to the incredible work of our federal agents, who work tirelessly to save American lives,” she said. “ISIS’s poisonous ideology must be ripped out root and stem - anyone who tries to commit violence on ISIS’s behalf will be found, arrested, and prosecuted. You cannot hide from us.”

FBI Director Kash Patel added: “Today’s announcement underscores the FBI’s commitment to combatting terrorism and demonstrates our continuous work to disrupt and thwart terrorist plots against the American public.

"Let this serve as a warning to those who plan to conduct attacks against the United States on behalf of terrorist organizations – you will be brought to justice.”

Videos of bomb making tutorials were discovered. Credit: Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas echoed that message.

“The increasing threats of harm and destruction in our country made by those aligned with violent ideologies must be stopped,” he said.

“An alleged ISIS sympathizer has been federally charged with international terrorism. This operation is but one example highlighting the necessity of vigilant observation and swift action to halt what could have been a devastating outcome.

"Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to take prompt action against those attempting to carry out alleged terrorist missions.”

Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of FBI Dallas said: “The FBI worked alongside our law enforcement partners to quickly arrest an individual who intended to provide bomb making materials to a foreign terrorist organization. Protecting the Homeland is a top priority for the FBI.

"This arrest demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding our communities from terrorism.”

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch also praised the efforts of law enforcement: “Today’s charges illustrate that the threats of terrorism and extremist violence against our nation are still very real.

"The NYPD remains committed to identifying, disrupting, and dismantling these networks at their source - before they can reach their murderous ends.

"And any person who puts American lives at risk will face justice and be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

"I want to thank our undercover investigators in the NYPD, as well as our law enforcement partners in the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, for their exceptional work on this case.”

Images related to ISIS were discovered. Credit: Department of Justice

Social media posts and cryptocurrency raised red flags

According to court documents, the investigation began in mid-October when an NYPD undercover agent spotted a suspicious account on social media.

That account, later identified as Garza’s, followed numerous pro-ISIS profiles and commented on a jihadist post.

The undercover began communicating with Garza, who reportedly described himself as a 21-year-old Mexican-American living in Texas.

Over several weeks, Garza allegedly shared pro-ISIS content, sent official media releases from the terrorist organization, and even paid small amounts of cryptocurrency to the undercover, believing it would be used for weapons and materials.

Among the materials shared was a video showing a suicide vehicle bombing.

Garza allegedly later detailed his plan to obtain and deliver bomb ingredients.

When he met the undercover agent on December 22, he not only delivered the materials but also described how to assemble the device and suggested surrounding it with nails. He then offered to provide a tutorial video.

Garza was arrested shortly after leaving the meeting and appeared in court the next day.

Garza was formally charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

His detention hearing is set for December 30.

The investigation was led by the FBI's Dallas Field Office and the NYPD, with support from the FBI's New York Field Office and several local Texas police departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Madeleine Case and DOJ Trial Attorney David Courchaine are prosecuting the case.

Featured image credit: Department of Justice