What is a Social Engineering Scam?

The internet has made our lives easier in many ways. It's easier than ever to connect with friends, manage money, watch movies, and even get directions. But the internet has also made it easier for criminals to defraud users with social engineering scams.

Social engineering scams use psychological manipulation to get people to take some action. Unlike hacking, when criminals attack weak parts of computer systems, social engineering scammers prey on human weaknesses for their criminal activity.

In most cases, social engineering scams aim to trick people into providing personal info, downloading an attachment, or clicking a link. Their goal is to defraud or somehow harm the victim, in most cases financially.

Social Engineering Preys On The Victim's Emotions

Many social engineering scams use scare tactics, threats, and a sense of urgency. Some schemes temp the target with gifts or peak curiosity with a secret prize. Other scams prey on people's desire to help others.

In one common scam, criminals send an email that appears to come from a trusted financial institution. The email asks the target to log in to their account to fix a problem or verify info. Since most people trust their bank, many don't think twice about clicking the link on the email and logging in to what is a fake site. Unfortunately, they're giving their login info to thieves.

Common Types Of Social Engineering Scams

Phishing is when scammers send emails designed to trick their targets into sharing their info. That's because these emails can look like they're from a trusted business. For example, the scam email might claim to be a credit card company saying the customer's account is locked until they log in and verify their info.

Other phishing attacks infect the person's computer with malware when they download an attachment or click a link.

Vishing is the voicemail version of phishing while smishing is phishing by instant message.

Baiting is like phishing but offers the target a prize or bonus in return for giving info or downloading an attachment.

Pretexting is when scammers use emails or texts that appear to come from someone the target knows — or an authority figure, such as a real estate agent or business executive. This establishes trust with the victim and makes it more likely they will turn over info.

In quid pro quo scams, criminals offer something — usually a service like free tech support — in return for personal info.