In today’s hyper-connected world, cybercriminals work tirelessly to target businesses and individuals of all shapes, sizes, and types.
While cybercrime may invoke an image of a shady figure in a dark room hacking code, modern criminals don’t have to be super tech-savvy—they just have to be good at manipulating people. These deceptive tactics are known as social engineering attacks, which exploit trust, fear, urgency, or goodwill to trick victims into giving up critical credentials, clicking on malicious links, or granting access to protected systems.
In fact, according to recent research, nearly 99 % of all successful cyber-attacks involve some form of social engineering.
In this article, we’re looking at six of the most common social engineering attacks your business (or you personally) should be watching for. Plus, we’re offering tips on how to defend against them.
1. Phishing
Phishing is the most classic and still the most common social engineering tactic criminals use to gain access to protected accounts, systems, or networks.
It happens when a scammer sends an email, text (known as smishing), or voice/phone call (known as vishing), making it appear to come from a trusted source like a vendor, bank, colleague, or even a senior executive at your company.
The goal is to trick you into clicking a malicious link, downloading a file, or providing login credentials.
For the rest of this section, anything about phishing can also apply to smishing and vishing scams.
Why Phishing Works
Humans naturally trust familiar‐looking senders, and they are susceptible to situations that call for urgent action. In the majority of phishing cases, there is a sense of urgency coming from what appears to be a trusted source:
- “Your invoice is overdue!” (sent from an email address pretending to be your electric company)
- “Your account will be locked if you do not take action!” (sent from an email address pretending to be your bank)
- “You have won a prize that you must claim now!” (sent from an email address pretending to be a retailer you have purchased from before)
What to Look Out For
Generic openings
Be wary of greetings like “Dear user” or anything other than your name. And even when your name is used, remain alert.
Slight misspellings or bad grammar
The body of the email may include odd grammar or punctuation, as well as slight misspellings throughout. Be especially wary if the brand name or the domain name is misspelled.
Mismatched URLs
Scammers often use URLs that are close to the real company’s URL but slightly off. For instance, instead of www.bankofamerica.com, a cybercriminal may include a URL like www.bankofamarica.com. It’s super close, but it’s not legitimate. Bank of America would never send correspondence with an incorrect URL.
Unusual or out-of-line requests
Legitimate companies would not email you out of the blue for your login credentials, social security number, or other important information.
Stay Defensive
If you’re unsure whether the email you have received is real or not, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Confirm the sender through a separate channel, like a phone call.
- Enable multi‐factor authentication (MFA) for all your logins.
- Undergo training or set up training for your employees to recognize the signs of a phishing email.
2. Spear-Phishing/Whaling
Spear-phishing is a more targeted variant of phishing that aims at specific individuals or roles in companies. It typically goes after C-suite executives, finance staff, and other higher-ups.
Whaling is even more narrowly focused, going after top executives or highly privileged accounts.
Why Spear-phishing/Whaling Works
Attackers spend more time familiarizing themselves with their targets. They may study their website bios, LinkedIn profiles, or other social media pages to craft more believable messages.
What to Look Out For
Watch out for the same red flags that come in regular phishing emails, but also look for:
Emails with too much familiarity
Vendor messages with too much personalization (“Hi John, saw your post about your recent meeting in Dallas”) may be a red flag.
Stay Defensive
It’s smart to maintain strict verification protocols for financial transactions, restrict privileges for email accounts, and provide executive-level phishing training.
3. Business Email Compromise (BEC)
A BEC attack typically begins with social engineering (often via phishing) but evolves into direct financial fraud. In this type of fraud, an attacker impersonates a vendor, executive, or employee and convinces someone to send money or make a payment to a fraudulent account.
Some attacks also manipulate payroll or redirect invoices.
Why a BEC Attack Works
When paired with an urgent tone, like “Wire this today—the CEO says approval granted”, victims are more likely to override standard verification procedures.
What to Look Out For
The same warning signs as those in the phishing or spear-phishing/whaling section apply, but add:
Requests outside normal procedures
BEC attacks depend on people breaking protocol and handing over money or finance-related credentials the wrong way.
Requests for secrecy or urgency
The “executive” who sent the email will likely ask the recipient to keep their request to break protocol under wraps, or they will ask that they break it quickly, with no time to waste.
Stay Defensive
Institute dual‐verification for wire transfers, use vendor bank‐account whitelisting, and monitor accounting anomalies.
4. Pretexting and Impersonation
In this type of attack, the cybercriminal creates a believable scenario (the “pretext”) to gain trust. Then, they will ask for sensitive information or access to protected accounts, systems, or networks. They might impersonate an employee, vendor, auditor, or even law enforcement.
For instance, an attacker may take on the role of an MHD employee and reach out to claim something is wrong with your computer. Because your company uses MHD, you’re inclined to believe the sender is legitimate.
Why Pretexting Works
Social engineers exploit the human desire to help, to obey authority, or to resolve a situation quickly. Pretexting further increases the likelihood of that happening if the recipient believes the message is coming from a legitimate source they trust.
What to Look Out For
Look out for all the red flags from previous attack types, as well as:
Authoritative Messaging
Be wary of someone asking for access because “the auditor is on site, and we must fetch these files now” or “I’m your vendor’s new rep, and I need credentials.”
Stay Defensive
Establish strict identity verification protocols before granting access, use role‐based access controls, and train staff to challenge unusual requests, even from internal sources or those in leadership roles.
5. Physical and Digital Baiting
In baiting attacks, the attacker uses either physical bait, like a corrupted USB, or digital bait, like downloadable malicious software (malware).
For example, the attacker may leave a USB drive labelled “Employee Compensation Files” in a breakroom. If someone takes the bait, plugs the USB into their computer, and opens a file, malware may begin downloading.
Why Baiting Works
Baiting bypasses technical safeguards by exploiting people’s curiosity or intrigue.
What to Look Out For
Unknown Drives
If you come across a random USB drive at work, on a school campus, or anywhere else, don’t plug it into any of your devices.
Unknown or Suspicious Software Downloads
Be wary of software downloads from USBs or online spaces that promote benefits upon download that are too good to be true or sound suspicious.
Stay Defensive
Restrict USB usage in your office and personal life, conduct physical security sweeps of your facility, and educate your staff about never plugging unknown media into their devices.
6. Deepfake and AI-Enhanced Impersonation
Deepfake and AI-generated or -enhanced impersonations are some of the most alarming and quickly evolving threats. In these attacks, scammers use voice, video, or AI tools to impersonate executives, vendors, or trusted figures, pushing you to transfer funds or share data.
For example, let’s say a scammer wants to impersonate your boss, John Smith. The criminal may use AI or other technology to generate audio that sounds just like him. And if they have the phone number of any of John S.’s employees, they can call and feed a message to the recipient, making it sound like it is coming straight from John.
Why Deepfake Works
AI tools make it increasingly easy to replicate voices, videos, or writing styles. Combining the message and video with social engineering tactics like urgency causes targets to a) believe the sender is legitimate, and b) get manipulated into doing what is being requested of them.
What to Look Out For
Urgent Calls From People You Know
Be wary of calls or voice messages from your CEO or other leadership asking you to “move funds now” or urging you to take other fast action.
Videos of People You Know That Raise Urgency
Be wary of video messages from leadership asking for urgent action or urgent help.
Stay Defensive
If you get an urgent call from your boss through your office phone, either hang up and call them back, or try to connect with them using your cell (either call or text) to verify. Train staff to question unusual requests, even ones that seem to come from known individuals, and invest in detection tools for deepfakes.
Protect your Florida business from today’s social engineering attacks with cybersecurity services from MHD: 833-MHD-INFO (833-643-4636)
Social engineering attacks are a major threat to businesses of all sizes. From phishing and BEC to AI-driven impersonation, the tricks keep evolving and becoming more sophisticated. By raising awareness in your office, enforcing verification protocols, and partnering with a knowledgeable IT security provider like MHD, you can dramatically reduce your risk of an attack.
Contact an MHD specialist at 833-MHD-INFO (833-643-4636) to learn more about our managed IT security services for your Florida business.
MHD is your premier IT partner, serving businesses in and around Tampa, Florida, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
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