3 Social Engineering Scams You’ll Want to Keep an Eye Out For

These days there are thousands of different cyber scams looking to steal money or information from unsuspecting internet users. While many of these attacks can be stopped with a strengthened and secure connection, there is another type of attack that relies more on tricking the users, rather than their network or personal device. These are known as social engineers, and they rely on exploiting the human psychology in order to obtain what they want. Here are three types of social engineering scams that you’ll want to be able to recognize.

Phishing

One of the most common types of hacking scams used today, phishing scams try to trick internet users to give up their personal information by posing as a reputable source. These often come up in the form of an email from a site that is easily recognizable, such as Facebook or Amazon. Typically, these emails state that there is a problem with a person’s account, and prompt them to fill out their personal information in order to resolve it. That’s why you should always double check the URL to make sure it is a verified site. Remember, a site will NEVER ask for your log in credentials through an email.

Pretexting

Pretexting is similar to phishing in that the hacker attempts to coerce information from a user by pretending to be someone they’re not. The main difference between the two types of scams is that where a phishing attack is meant to induce fear, a pretexting attack will instead attempt to create a false trust with the user. Hackers achieve this by posing as someone the user would trust, such as a government official or the police. They then ask for their personal information, often citing that they need to verify the user’s identity.

Quid Pro Quo

Hackers will often use what is known as a ‘quid pro quo’ attack where they promise a user some kind of good or service in exchange for their information. This is often presented as some sort of prize for a contest, and promises that you will receive the reward for free, as long as you provide them with a bit of personal information. For example, a hacker could promise free IT assistance to individual users and ask for them to give them their credentials in order to claim the service. They would then be able to steal valuable data or even download harmful malware directly onto their computers.

Even if you’re careful with your network, a professional hacker will stop at nothing to try and find a vulnerability they can exploit. Call Info Advantage at (585) 254-8710 today to learn more ways you can keep hackers at bay.