[yesthatjallen]

Cohen doesn't use his name.

His production team sets up the interview in legitimate terms.

The trick here is the person being interviewed isn't allowed to know or see who he will be interviewed by until the interview begins.

By that time the camera is rolling and the person being interviewed is very confused by what's happening (which is clearly visible in the interviews).

It generally takes some time to realize what's going on; that they're being punked.

[x]

Cohen doesn't use his name.

True. He was disguised as a disabled veteran and didn't use his real name or one of his familiar aliases.

A highly-skilled media professional might not have fallen for his stunt, but a lot of people without such expertise easily could have.

[Engedi]

Yes thank you, I reread and understand how she was fooled.