There are many ways in which a cybercriminal can attack you online. They may try to tug at your heartstrings and extort you for private data or money. Sometimes, they take a more technical approach and infect your device with ransomware, holding your data hostage until you give in to their demands.
With many buzzwords thrown around in the world of cyber security, such as social engineering and phishing, it can be hard to keep track of the different ways a perpetrator may target your data. However, knowing the meaning of these terms and how they differ is crucial to properly defending against the different types of attacks.
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering is a term that encompasses any technique used to psychologically manipulate another individual to complete a desired task. These types of attacks rely on the human tendency to trust the intentions of others.
Common Social Engineering Strategies
Cybercriminals may impersonate a trusted individual to coerce a target into divulging private information. This can include posing as a colleague, romantic interest, government agency, or job listing.
It can also include establishing a relationship overtime, such as the ones forged in romance scams. These schemes require a level of trust to be developed rather than exploiting the belief of good faith that comes with an established commodity.
Warning Signs of Social Engineering
There are many methods for carrying out social engineering attacks, each with unique characteristics. However, some common red flags include:
- Individuals who share an unnatural amount of interests with you. These cybercriminals do extensive research to gather data and try to appeal to their targets.
- Quick and unrelenting pressure to disclose personal information. By painting the offer out as a “limited time” deal, scammers can coerce a victim to act irrationally.
- Any online interaction that seems too good to be true. These schemes are often tailor-made to their target, so you should trust your gut if it feels like an unrealistic prospect.
What is Phishing?
Phishing is a specific type of social engineering attack which involves contacting the individual or creating a fictitious website under the guise of a legitimate institution to extract personal information like passwords and financial data.
Common Phishing Strategies
Cybercriminals may enact phishing attacks by utilizing personal data that was exposed in a previous data breach to craft believable emails that will deceive their target. They may send you to a malicious website that appears legitimate at first glance or even attack you through security vulnerabilities of an authentic page to infect your device with malware.
Warning Signs of Phishing
Some common trends that pop up in many phishing scams include:
- Messages that are littered with grammar and spellings errors. Some of these schemes may seem official at first glance, but many of them fall apart upon further inspection.
- Requests for credentials and log-in information. Larger entities will have this information on file and will not ask you to divulge it in an email.
- Suspicious links or attachments within the message. These cybercriminals may attempt to infect your device and encrypt your files with malicious programs such as ransomware.
How Do Social Engineering and Phishing Differ?
While Phishing is a specific form of social engineering, it follows a square vs rectangle type of rule in which not all social engineering scams are phishing scams. Both look to exploit human nature and rely on the victim to divulge personal information, but the means of doing so vary.
Many social engineering scams are tailored to an individual target and attempt to manipulate them through a well-crafted, personal façade. Phishing scams often utilize personal information, but this data is usually plugged into a generic format with the goal of scamming a mass audience.
You can learn more about the specifics of social engineering tactics and its role in cybercrime, including recent examples of high-profile crimes conducted in this manner, by reading our comprehensive article covering social engineering.
How to Prevent an Attack
There are preliminary measures which can be taken to best position yourself to avoid these types of attacks when using the internet.
- Visit Secure Websites: Make sure you use websites with URLs that are HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, and try to avoid ones that are simply HTTP.
- Use Email Security Features: Turning on spam and phishing filters can help detect fraudulent emails and send them to junk.
- Never Share Personal Information: This is advisable for avoiding any scam online. You should never disclose private data, even if the recipient may seem legitimate.
- Avoid Suspicious Attachments: Don’t open attachments and links from unconfirmed senders. These links often contain malware and can give the scammer access to your personal data.
How DFC Can Help
Here at DFC, we have seen every type of social engineering tactic used by cybercriminals. Our years of experience in the field have allowed us to develop techniques that help us see through these scams, such as email metadata analysis, which enables us to detect phishing attempts.
We can help you track down the scammer regardless of their geographic location, connect you with law enforcement with jurisdiction to take legal action, and provide ongoing monitorization and security screening to prevent similar attacks in the future.
If you’ve been attacked online in this manner, reach out to our Blackmail Helpline to speak with one of our specialists today.
DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE ON ANY SUBJECT MATTER. DIGITAL FORENSICS CORP. IS NOT A LAWFIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE OR SERVICES. By viewing posts, the reader understands there is no attorney-client relationship, the post should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney, and readers are urged to consult their own legal counsel on any specific legal questions concerning a specific situation.
