These Social Engineering Attacks Can Be Devastating

Phishing, vishing, and smishing are all types of social engineering attacks that use technology to gain access to your sensitive information or accounts. In a best-case scenario they’re just a nuisance. In a worst-case scenario they can drain your bank account. In this post, we'll provide a high-level overview of each type of attack, how they work, what to look out for, and a few steps you can take to keep yourself safe from these types of attacks.

Phishing Emails

Phishing emails are emails meant to trick you into visiting fraudulent websites or downloading malicious software onto your computer. An attacker tries to trick you into sharing private information (like passwords, credit card numbers, and social security numbers) by pretending to be a trustworthy entity.

It can be easier to spot phishing emails if you know what to look for.

Here are some common signs:

●    It comes from an unknown source or sender with little or no connection to the recipient.

●    The email is poorly written and contains spelling errors.

●    It contains links that don’t match the content of the message or appear suspiciously out of place.

If you think you may have received an email from a scammer, delete it immediately. Never click on any links inside these messages or download attachments unless you trust their origin (and even then be cautious).

Vishing

Vishing (voice phishing) is a form of phishing attack that can be done using a combination of email or text message and a scam phone number to call, but it's most commonly done strictly over the phone.

The scammer typically claims to be from a reputable company like your bank, credit card company, or even the IRS. They try to convince you they've detected fraudulent activity on your account and then ask for personal information in an attempt to gain access to personal information to compromise your account or steal money.

If you receive an unexpected call from someone claiming to represent a business or organization that you do business with:

●    Ask questions that only someone from the actual organization would know

●    Ask for a call back number

●    Google the number they called from. Often, they reuse numbers and are reported as being associated with fraud and scams.

Smishing

Smishing (SMS or text phishing) is a form of social engineering attack where someone will send a malicious text message usually containing a link to trick you into providing personal or confidential information or directing you to a malicious website. They typically try to convince you that they are from a company like your bank, Microsoft, DropBox, Apple, or Amazon and that there is some sort of problem with your account.

●      Be sure not to click on links in the text message

●      If it appears to come from a company you have an account with, contact the company directly.

●      Don’t reply to the message

This was a high-level overview of social engineering attacks. In our coming series, we will dig deeper and go into more detail about each type of attack and how to protect against them. Hopefully, this gave a little insight into what these types of attacks are and how to identify them. Countless account compromises and financial thefts have occurred as a result of social engineering, and we hope that by spreading awareness about these attacks we can help prevent as many as possible from becoming victims.

As always feel free to visit us at https://www.liquidmo.com or schedule a free 30-minute consultation.