Social Engineering-How Fraudsters Use Psychology to Con You

With the advent of information technology and the rise of social media, it has become easy to access and share information. Plenty of organisations and companies, including banks, have streamlined processes to ensure that customer support is offered in a timely manner. Whenever you hit a snag in the road, need a query answered, or perhaps simply want to check how you can sign up for a credit card, you can log into web portals and initiate conversations with customer service representatives ready to resolve your concerns.  

In this guide, we’ll break down how to steer clear of the fraudsters and secure your information.

Social engineering, in layman’s terms, is a con. This concept relies on:

• Psychological manipulation by tricking the victim into revealing information that is confidential.

• Skillfully employing persuasive techniques that instil fear and a sense of urgency to prompt you to take some action.

• Disguising something as an attempt to help, with carefully worded coercion that could fool you into revealing passwords or credit/debit card information.

Fraudsters have become adept at manipulating personal information to trick their victims. There are many methods through which they deceive their targets, including:

• Pretending to be someone in a position to assist you.

• Posing as bank employees and flagging unusual activity on your credit cards.

• Contacting you under the guise of an IRS collection offer and asking you to settle your dues immediately or have your assets frozen.

• Posing as employees of reputed corporates or organisations to give you a false sense of security. 

• Inventing plausible scenarios to engage your flight or fight instinct, thereby ensuring more success for their con.

Once these fraudsters succeed in building trust, it becomes easy for them to manipulate their targets into taking exactly the action that they intend. This could lead to losing precious assets or other financial liabilities that could prove damaging. 

Social engineering is used in a variety of ways. Let’s look at some common methods below:

1. Vishing, or Voice Phishing

   • This type of social engineering is conducted over the phone to scam people.

   • Common scams include asking for money by posing as a figure of authority.

   • Criminals can also use this method to run a more elaborate con, such as obtaining employee log-in credentials.

   • Scammers may also resort to voice phishing to gather insider information about how a business works.

2. Phishing

   • Phishing involves emailing victims.

   • Spear phishing relies on sending emails to a targeted group of people.

   • These emails often contain links capable of recording sensitive information if clicked.

   • Smishing uses text messages to lure victims to fraudulent websites or trick them into sending credit card details over text.

   • Scammers may replicate shipping emails to trick you into clicking on tracking links, activating malware.

   • This malware can then hack into your device and steal confidential information, such as bank account details.

3. Baiting

   • This method anticipates human behaviour and manipulates curiosity.

   • For example, baiting targets with discarded flash drives or any other piece of physical media likely to incite interest.

   • Flash drives labelled as “Salaries” or “Personal and Confidential” are likely to draw on your curiosity, prompting you to insert them into your laptop.

   • This will infect your system with malware, leading to the loss of important and sensitive information.

4. Whaling

   • This type of social engineering is aimed specifically at CEOs and CFOs.

   • It aims to trick high-ranking individuals within organisations into revealing insider secrets or other confidential information.

Anyone can be a victim of social engineering. Often, in the right (or wrong circumstances), we may not question certain links and click on them without thinking. Or if we are agitated enough, we may end up believing the person on the phone who says they are calling about suspicious transactions on your cards. 

By preying on emotions and using the right lingo, fraudsters can easily manipulate you into taking the wrong step. However, you can avoid falling victim to scams by:

• Never divulge personal information over the phone, email, or text. 

• Don’t react the minute something alarming is communicated to you. Assess the situation calmly before taking action.

• Think critically and carefully before you reveal anything to anyone. 

• Question everything before you decide to do anything further. If you are not sure about something, cease communications.

• Do your research; you can look into things yourself before deciding to trust someone with important details.

Customer service representatives uphold strict integrity and only request minimal, secure information. However, sharing sensitive details on unsecured forums or social media can expose you to fraud, risking both mental and financial harm. 

Remember that most vetted professionals and organisations will never contact you for confidential information over the phone. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. By taking the measures listed above, you’ll be able to stay alert and prevent scammers from taking advantage of you.

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