How Scammers Use Social Engineering To Steal Money

Pretexting, baiting, phishing – all social engineering scams that can persuade you to act on impulse. Here are some tips on how to avoid falling for these tactics.

As digital payment scams become more prevalent, they’re also more sophisticated – making them harder to detect. Scammers employ “social engineering” to manipulate individuals into disclosing sensitive information.

Here’s What You Need To Know

It’s all about the psychology of persuasion. Instead of hacking systems directly, scammers take advantage of human nature. They aim to lower your defenses, so you’ll act on impulse rather than reason, to get what they want.

Let’s look at some examples of how social engineering uses the powers of persuasion to steal personal information and money.

Pretexting

With this type of scam, fraudsters invent a believable story or false identity to trick you into sharing sensitive information. They often do their research in advance, gathering details from social media, online searches, and/or public records to make their approach more convincing.

The fraudster then pretends to be someone you can trust – possibly a financial representative or government employee – to gain credibility and get you to hand over sensitive information that can be used to steal money or commit identity theft.

Baiting

Baiting relies on the false promise of something tempting – like a cash reward or free movie download – to lure you into taking action. The file or link may appear to be the promised reward, but it often contains malware designed to lock, steal, or take control of your data. Once installed, attackers can gain access to valuable information, including login credentials and personal files.

Phishing

One of the most common types of social engineering attacks, phishing, typically comes in the form of emails or text messages that appear to be from a trusted source, like your financial institution. These messages often create pressure – warning of an account problem or other issue that requires immediate attention – and direct you to a fake website that appears authentic. Entering your personal information on these sites gives scammers the access they need to compromise your accounts or steal your identity.

How To Combat This Psychological Manipulation

 Knowledge is key. Now that you know what to look for, follow these tips to help protect yourself.

1. Delete requests for personal information or passwords. No one should contact you for your personal information. Not even your financial institution.
2. Disregard offers for help or requests for help from those you don’t know. Especially if unsolicited.
3. Avoid tempting offers. Though it may be difficult to pass on what appears to be a great offer, don’t just dive in. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re really interested, take a step back and conduct further research. If they’re reputable, call the company allegedly offering the deal to confirm the offer came from them and not a phony seller.
4. Verify contacts. Scammers usually imitate legitimate companies by mimicking their names in emails or using caller ID spoofing. You can validate their authenticity by checking the domain name of an email address or hanging up on an unsolicited caller, getting the legitimate phone number from their official website, and calling back.

Stay Vigilant & Protect Yourself

Social engineering scams like pretexting, baiting, and phishing rely on getting you to share personal information or download harmful content. If you suspect fraudulent activity, contact the known and trusted company directly to verify the authenticity of an offer or request.

If you have received something from A+FCU that seems suspicious, contact us at 512.302.6800.