Social engineering is a common method that criminals use to manipulate people into taking some action that compromises themselves, their employer, or another third party.
To protect yourself from social engineering, it’s important to understand the types of social engineering attacks, how to detect the warning signs, and how to defend yourself.
What Is Social Engineering?
Social engineering involves manipulating people into performing actions against their best interest the interest of their employer. Criminals often design scams to trick victims into sharing data that can be used for identity theft, visiting malicious websites, downloading malware to an employer network, sending money to scammers, and more.
For example, a social engineering attack may trick you into providing your personal information, like your driver’s license number or Social Security number, which can be used to commit identity theft.
Or a criminal may attempt to trick you into granting access to your employer’s network, giving them the ability to steal company data.
Types of Social Engineering Attacks
Here are some of the most common types of social engineering attacks:
Phishing Attacks
Phishing occurs when a criminal impersonates a real person or organization to trick you into taking some action. They might pose as a company, government agency, or authority figure like the police. Common phishing methods include:
- Bulk phishing messages. Scammers may send a mass number of emails, text messages, or other types of communications to thousands or millions of recipients. The scam casts a wide net to lure in as many potential victims as possible.
- Spear phishing. With spear phishing, criminals target a specific individual, such as a customer of a certain bank or an employee of a specific organization. The scammer contacts their target directly and uses personal information, such as the target’s name, location, and employer, to make the scam sound more believable.
- Voice phishing. Some scams involve criminals calling their target directly. For example, a scammer may call you and pretend to be with law enforcement or the IRS, in the hopes of getting the victim to send money, hand over personal information, and more.
The methods that criminals use to impersonate trusted people or organizations can range from simple to highly sophisticated. Just because a message appears at first glance to come from someone you know and trust, doesn’t mean it actually is.
Baiting
Baiting scams dangle a prize in front of victims to trick them into acting against their best interests. For example, the scammer may offer a free game, music, or software for download online, but the file contains a virus that infects your computer.
Another method is to leave an infected USB drive in a public place, in the hope that you pick it up and plug it into your computer to see what’s on it.
Tailgating
Tailgating, also known as “piggybacking,” is when an unauthorized person attempts to gain access to a restricted area by following closely behind someone else. For example, a criminal may follow you into your workplace to steal your employer’s property or company data.
This can also happen without the authorized person present – for example, when you leave your work computer unlocked, and someone logs into to access a private account or employer network.
Pretexting
Pretexting happens when a criminal creates a fake situation (the “pretext”) for the target to fall victim to, then presents themselves as the only one who can solve the problem.
For example, the scammer may claim that your personal data has been exposed in a security breach and pose as a help desk support person or cybersecurity expert. But eventually they’ll ask you to provide logins and passwords or turn over control of your computer or device, which is the scammer’s actual goal.
Why Social Engineering Attacks Work
Social engineering attacks are a common tactic for criminals because they work: the FBI reported a record $16 billion in losses to cybercriminals and scammers in 2024.
Even with all the security training, digital safeguards, and tools at our disposal, people still fall for social engineering scams because they exploit our most basic instincts and human emotions:
- Fear. Social engineering scams often use fear as a tactic to manipulate individuals. For example, criminals may impersonate government agencies or law enforcement to instill fear of government penalties, or make someone believe that their identity has already been stolen. Fear can get victims to act quickly without thinking.
- Trust. Scammers often work hard to build trust and rapport with their targets and work up to the actual goal of the scam, while building a relationship along the way. Or, the criminal impersonates a trusted organization, like a bank or digital payment app that the potential victim already does business with.
- Greed. Scammers may try to take advantage of greed or desire by promising economic gain, free gifts or merchandise, and special offers. This appeals to the part of us that is looking out for ourselves and desires personal property or material wealth.
- Respect for authority. Human beings desire order, authority, and hierarchy – it’s how we structure our societies, after all. People are often conditioned to respect and comply with authority figures, such as law enforcement or the government. This is why social engineering scams frequently assume authoritative roles.
Social engineers often do their homework on targets to gather intelligence and develop sophisticated attacks. They may scour publicly available information, such as your name, address, and information on public social media sites, to craft convincing narratives tailored to you.
If someone knows details about your life, you may be more likely to believe they’re legit.
There is also the development of new technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), to contend with. Criminals can potentially use AI to send out fraudulent content and messaging on a large scale.
For example, AI could be used to mimic a person’s voice or write an email that successfully imitates a trusted company’s messaging.
How to Protect Yourself from Social Engineering Attacks
There are steps you can take to protect yourself and your employer from many types of social engineering attacks:
- Educate yourself about social engineering. Read up on common tactics that are used to trick unsuspecting victims. Sign up for cybersecurity training in the workplace to keep yourself, your fellow employees, and your employer safe.
- Verify sensitive requests. If you receive a request to reset your password, provide sensitive information, send money to your boss for a work project, or otherwise perform some action that could benefit a scammer, take a minute to verify the request before you do anything. Contact the organization or person through official channels, and don’t just respond to the email or text as you could be communicating with an impostor.
- Don’t download attachments or click links. Be wary of requests to visit websites or download attachments, especially if you don’t recognize the source. Look for signs of a fake message in the email or text, and again, verify the request before you do anything.
- Limit the information you share online. Criminals can build advanced scams based on the information they can find about you online. Limit the amount of info that you share publicly, and make sure your social media settings are set to private or locked down to friends only.
- Watch out for tailgaters. Always lock your computer, smartphone, and other devices when you walk away, even if you think you’re in a secure setting. Watch out for people who try to follow you into a secure area or try to talk their way into somewhere they shouldn’t be.
- Report scams. You can report phishing emails to your email provider. You can block the phone number of anyone who sends you suspicious text messages. At work, report any scams you come across to your IT or security department.
- Use digital tools to protect yourself. Install antivirus software to keep yourself safe from viruses and malware. Consider using a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your identity and activity on the internet anonymous. Sign up for a password manager to create unique, strong passwords for every account you have.
- Sign up for identity protection. IdentityIQ provides comprehensive identity theft protection, including antivirus software and VPNs, identity monitoring and credit report monitoring, identity theft insurance for up to $1 million, and identity restoration services if your identity ever gets stolen.
Bottom Line
Social engineering is a prominent threat that exploits human psychology to trick people into taking actions that compromise the safety of themselves and their employers.
Phishing, pretexting, and other scams take advantage of human weaknesses to steal data and compromise organizational systems. And anyone can fall for a social engineering scam, even if you are familiar with cybersecurity best practices.
Protecting yourself requires a combination of common sense and tools that can keep you safe. With best-rated IdentityIQ identity theft protection, you receive the identity monitoring, alerts, and expert support you need to protect your personal information and act fast if fraud occurs. Get started with IdentityIQ today.
