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Writer's pictureAnupama Sinha

Understanding Social Engineering

Updated: Jun 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • Introduction to Social Engineering

  • Phishing: The Baiting Game of Online Scams

  • Spear Phishing: Personalized Attacks Tailored to You

  • Pretexting: Building Trust to Steal Information

  • Baiting: The Lure of Freebies and Prizes

  • Conclusion

  • FAQs


Introduction to Social Engineering

Welcome to the world of hacking. Today we will be talking about one of the most widely witnessed cybercrimes of the decade- Social Engineering. 


Social Engineering refers to the act of luring someone into expressing their sensitive and confidential data. The primary motive of this act is to gain profit illegally.


Imagine that one fine day you receive a text message with an unknown link. The link portrays that you have indeed won a $1000 lottery! Seems like a dream come true isn’t it? Well, of course it does. But you don’t really realize it’s not YOUR dream that is being fulfilled; it’s the scammers.


Understanding Social Engineering

In this blog, we will discuss about social engineering, its types and how should we stay woke against such scams.



Let’s dig in!  

 



Who are the Target?

Phishing: The Baiting Game of Online Scams

Phishing got its name from “fishing”, on the context of “fishing out people’s sensitive information”.


Phishing is a technique by which scammers illegally acquire confidential data from individuals. This can be done by sending emails, SMSs, or even by fraudulent websites.


Phishing is most likely done to acquire bank account details, Pin codes or login credentials to gain profit.

 



The red flags to watch out!!!

Spear Phishing: Personalized Attacks Tailored to You

Spear Phishing is different from Phishing. As it describes the act of targeting a specific individual into disclosing their confidential data or to fraud them.

Spear Phishing mostly targets an organization.


Spear Phishing is a tailored attack that could possibly hack your device too. Staying woke against such fraudsters and timely reporting them are the only ways to tackle them.

 



Social Engineering Attack Cycle

Pretexting: Building Trust to Steal Information

Next up in line is- Pretexting.


Pretexting is the way by which scammers build trust ahead of scamming them. In this, scammers create delusional scenarios that act as bait for the victims to disclose their sensitive information.


Pretexting usually takes place by the following 7 steps:

  • Impersonation

  • Tailgating

  • Piggybacking

  • Baiting

  • Phishing

  • Vishing

  • Scamware

 

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Baiting: The Lure of Freebies and Prizes

Baiting attack, is a kind of Social Engineering that lures its victims into sharing their confidential data by deliberate unknown clicks, distributing malwares and stealing sensitive information.


Like any other type of baiting, this too is a psychological manipulation that leads to victimization.


You might be lured into prizes or freebies that would lead to getting scammed. Stay woke of these tactics.

 

Conclusion

Getting scammed in the 21st century is nothing new. With the advancement of technologies and carelessness in security, every other person is highly susceptible to get scammed.


So, in times like these, it’s our duty to stay woke and stay safe.

With proper security and precautions, being safe digitally will help us to create a secure environment, and a secure tomorrow.


At iBovi, we work towards offering you tailored solutions to give you the best security services. Our team is available to assist you with the plans that work best for you!

 

FAQs:


  1. What is Social Engineering?

Social Engineering refers to the act of luring someone into expressing their sensitive and confidential data. The primary motive of this act is to gain profit illegally.

 

2. What are the 7 steps of Pretexting?

The 7 steps of Pretexting are:

  • Impersonation

  • Tailgating

  • Piggybacking

  • Baiting

  • Phishing

  • Vishing

  • Scamware


3. What is Baiting?

Baiting psychological manipulation that leads to victimization. It lures its victims into sharing their confidential data by deliberate unknown clicks, distributing malwares and stealing sensitive information


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