How does the false-cause fallacy mistake an apparent connection for a real cause?

The false-cause fallacy, or non causa pro causa, occurs when an argument incorrectly identifies the cause of a phenomenon by relying on an apparent, but non-causal, connection.1

The most common version of this error is the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy, which is Latin for "after this, therefore because of it". This mistake happens when someone assumes that because one event preceded another, the first event must have caused the second. Essentially, it confuses a simple temporal sequence with a genuine causal relationship.213

For example, if a person attributes a personal misfortune to a "malign event," such as breaking a mirror, they are committing this fallacy by assuming the timing of the two events implies that the first caused the second. In broader logical terms, this error is often summarized by the principle that correlation does not equal causation.12