Social engineering is a form of deception that exploits trust in human psychology to manipulate victims into divulging sensitive information or doing things they would not normally do. Human nature causes people to lower their guard when around those they know. When hackers gain trust, they breach security features by simply talking the device or account owners into executing specific actions.
Common Social Engineering Attacks
Hackers can perform several social engineering attacks against individuals and organizations. They can attempt more than one attack at the same time. Therefore, you should understand all threats and take every possible measure to prevent them. Here are the common ones.
Pretexting Attacks
In pretexting attacks, the attacker adopts a fabricated persona or pretext, often posing as a trusted authority figure or someone with legitimate authority, to gain the target’s confidence. They then use tactics such as building rapport or exploiting sympathy to convince their victims to disclose personal or confidential information. These attacks can occur through various channels, including emails, phone calls, or in-person interactions.
Signs of such attacks include inconsistent details or unusual requests. Do not be too quick to share information until you verify the requestor’s identity. Besides, personal information, such as logins, ID details, and bank account balances, should never be shared with friends, even if you know them well.
Baiting and Tailgating
In a baiting attack, the attacker places an enticing object, such as a USB drive or a valuable item, in a public space to attract curiosity. When someone picks up the bait and connects it to their device or system, it deploys malware, granting the attacker access to the victim’s data.
On the other hand, tailgating involves an unauthorized person following closely behind an authorized individual to gain access to a secure area. They may enter through security doors using the victim’s pass, view documents that the victim may be accessing, and gain trust from the victim, who then exposes vital data. You should always adhere to security protocols, be vigilant, especially in public spaces and avoid trusting new acquaintances.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are generally fraudulent communications that mimic legitimate sources to deceive victims into sharing information. These deceptive communications may include messages, emails, and websites. Hackers may pose as trustworthy entities, such as social media platforms, banks, online retailers, and friends. They then lure the unsuspecting victims into sharing logins, personal information, and financial details.
These attacks may lead to financial losses, manipulation, identity theft, and unauthorized account access. Recognize signs of phishing, such as grammatical errors, suspicious URLs, or urgent requests. No entity will ask you to share your login information or other sensitive data via email. If you are not sure you are communicating with the right entity, visit the official website of the organization and reach out to customer service before sharing the information.
In addition, if you are looking for deals, such as discounted clothing and electronics, visit official websites and avoid random fishy links. Private sneaker proxies from MarsProxies are highly popular security tools as they hide your traffic and give you access to geo-fenced sneaker-selling websites.
Vishing and Smishing
Vishing and smishing are cyberattacks that exploit voice calls (vishing) and text messages (smishing) to deceive individuals and extract sensitive information. In a vishing attack, the scammers call the victim while impersonating legitimate organizations such as service providers, government agencies, and banks, manipulating the victim into sharing their personal data or performing transactions.
Smishing attacks involve fraudulent text messages containing links or prompts that trick recipients into divulging confidential data or downloading malicious content. Some signs of these attacks include unsolicited calls or messages, too-good-to-be-true offers, urgent requests, or suspicious links. Always remain cautious, verify requests independently, and avoid sharing sensitive information over the phone or via text.
Psychological Manipulations
Psychological manipulations are the deliberate use of psychological tactics to control, influence, or deceive individuals for malicious intent or personal gain. These manipulations exploit emotions, cognitive biases, and vulnerabilities to shape behavior, perceptions, and decision-making. Scammers use tactics such as guilt-tripping, gaslighting, love bombing, and fearmongering to create dependency, manipulate emotions, or undermine critical thinking.
These manipulations may occur in various contexts, including professional settings, personal relationships, or online interactions. Always trust your instincts when interacting with people. That deal is probably not good for you if it feels fishy. Some tell-tale signs include manipulative language, excessive flattery, controlling behavior, unpredictability, and lack of empathy.
Be Vigilant
Social engineering attacks are hard to deal with as they do not require software or tools. Instead, they prey on human behavior and feelings and can work where other tools cannot. It is important always to be vigilant, skeptical, and informed about ways attackers can reach you.
Use the tactics above with other security tools, such as anti-virus, passwords, and firewalls, to stop hackers from accessing your information. You should never disable these tools for any reason when using your devices.
Besides, always hesitate and do background checks on anyone seeking access to your information. Some personal data, such as banking information, government identity cards, and login credentials, should be kept private, even if you believe the other party is legitimate.
Working as a cyber security solutions architect, Alisa focuses on application and network security. Before joining us she held a cyber security researcher positions within a variety of cyber security start-ups. She also experience in different industry domains like finance, healthcare and consumer products.
