What Are Common Examples Of Social Engineering Attacks?

In 2024, social engineering attacks are on the rise, with increasingly sophisticated techniques used to exploit human vulnerabilities. These attacks don't target software flaws but manipulate human behavior, exploiting trust to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. Whether through email, phone, text, or in person, these attacks remain one of the biggest cybersecurity threats. Understanding social engineering attack types is key to preventing costly breaches.

How Do Social Engineering Attacks Work?

To defend against social engineering attacks, it’s crucial to understand 3 main steps attackers follow:

1. Discovery and Investigation

Attackers start by gathering information, often through social media, public records, or even dumpster diving. They collect details like email addresses and job roles to make their attack more convincing.

2. Deception and Hook.

Using that information, attackers craft a scenario that plays on emotions—like a fake urgent email from your bank or a coworker in need. The goal is to make you act without thinking.

3. The Attack.

Finally, they get you to take action, like clicking a malicious link or sharing sensitive data. This can lead to data theft, financial loss, or a cybersecurity breach.

By understanding these three steps, it’s clear how social engineering attacks rely more on psychology than technology.

Common Types of Social Engineering Attacks

Now, let’s dive deeper into the most common social engineering attack types. Each method uses psychological manipulation to achieve its objective.

Phishing

Phishing remains one of the most dangerous and prevalent social engineering phishing methods. Attackers send fraudulent emails, often appearing to be from trusted sources like banks or colleagues, to trick users into providing sensitive information. These phishing attacks usually direct victims to fake websites where their credentials are harvested.

Spear Phishing

Unlike regular phishing, spear phishing is more personalized. Attackers research their targets and tailor the message to appear more credible. For instance, the attacker might mention specific company projects or impersonate someone familiar to the target, making the scam harder to detect.

Vishing

Vishing, short for voice phishing, involves attackers using phone calls to deceive individuals. The caller often poses as someone from a trusted entity, such as your bank or IT department. They may claim there’s an urgent security issue and persuade you to reveal personal information, such as passwords or social security numbers.

Smishing

Similar to vishing, smishing involves social engineering attacks via text messages. Attackers may send an urgent message pretending to be a financial institution or delivery service. Clicking a link in the text can lead to malware installation or direct victims to a fake website to steal credentials.

Pretexting

In pretexting, attackers create a fabricated scenario or pretext to obtain personal or organizational information. For example, the attacker may pose as an HR representative requesting sensitive details from employees. The strength of pretexting lies in the attacker’s ability to create a plausible scenario that appears genuine.

Baiting

Baiting capitalizes on human curiosity by offering something enticing—like free software downloads or USB drives left in public places. Once the victim takes the bait, malicious software is installed, compromising their systems. Baiting often results in malware infections or unauthorized access to corporate networks.

Tailgating

Also known as piggybacking, tailgating is a social engineering attack that exploits physical security flaws. In this case, the attacker physically follows someone into a restricted area without proper authorization. This method is particularly dangerous in secure facilities where unauthorized access could lead to data theft or sabotage.

Quishing

A relatively new social engineering attack type, quishing or QR phishing, involves deceptive QR codes placed on advertisements or products. Scanning the code can lead users to malicious websites or trigger a malware download. Quishing is particularly hard to spot since QR codes are widely trusted and used by businesses.

8 Examples of Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering attacks come in various forms, each with its own way of working and potential for damage. Let's explore 8 common examples:

1. Phishing

Phishing is one of the most widely used and dangerous social engineering attacks. It involves sending out phishing emails that look like they come from a legitimate source, such as a bank or an online service provider. These emails often prompt the user to click on a phishing link, leading them to a fake website where the attacker collects their login credentials, credit card information, or other sensitive data.

2. Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is a more targeted form of phishing. In this attack, the attacker customizes the email or message to look like it's from someone the target trusts, using details like the target's name, job role, or the groups and organizations they're connected to, aiming to make the message seem more legitimate and trick the target into giving away sensitive information or taking certain actions.

3. Vishing

Vishing, short for voice phishing, involves the use of phone calls to trick individuals into revealing personal information or performing specific actions. The attacker may pose as a bank representative, a tech support agent, or a government official, using various tactics to create a sense of urgency or fear to manipulate the target into complying with their demands.

4. Smishing

Similar to vishing, smishing takes advantage of text messages instead of phone calls. The attacker sends deceptive text messages that often appear to be from a trusted source, such as a bank or a service provider. These messages typically contain a link or a phone number that, when interacted with, can lead to the disclosure of sensitive information or the installation of malware on the target's device.

5. Pretexting

Pretexting involves making up a story or situation to trick individuals into sharing private information or doing things they normally wouldn't. The attacker might pretend to be a coworker, a customer, or someone in charge, creating a believable story that makes the target think their request is legitimate. Pretexting attacks often take advantage of the target's desire to be helpful or their fear of consequences.

6. Baiting

Baiting attacks involve attracting individuals with the promise of something desirable or valuable in exchange for their personal information or actions. This can take the form of free downloads, exclusive offers, or even physical objects left in public spaces. Once the target takes the bait, their information may be compromised, or they may accidentally install malware onto their device.

7. Tailgating

Tailgating, also known as piggybacking, exploits physical security vulnerabilities. In this attack, the attacker follows an authorized individual into a restricted area by closely tailing them, taking advantage of their access privileges. By blending in and appearing non-threatening, the attacker gains unauthorized access to sensitive areas or information.

8. Quishing

QR phishing, often referred to as quishing, involves tricking victims into scanning a malicious QR code. This code either links to a fraudulent website or initiates a malware download. These deceptive QR codes, posted on flyers, advertisements, or products, often seem trustworthy. They are deployed by malicious actors who impersonate legitimate businesses. When the code is scanned by a smartphone camera, it executes seamlessly, giving the user no indication of the redirection to a harmful site.

How to Identify Most Types of Social Engineering Attacks?

Social engineering attacks can be difficult to identify, as attackers often use sophisticated techniques to deceive their targets. Common signs to watch out for include unexpected requests for sensitive information or immediate action, urgency or fear tactics used to pressure targets into complying, poor grammar and spelling in messages, unusual sender or caller details, and unfamiliar or unexpected requests.

Paying attention to these red flags can help you spot potential social engineering attempts and protect yourself from falling victim to these attacks.

How to Protect Your Information from Social Engineering Attacks?

While it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of social engineering attacks, there are steps you can take to reduce your vulnerability. Educating yourself about common social engineering tactics and staying informed about the latest attack techniques is important.

Being cautious about unexpected requests and double-checking the authenticity of these requests through reliable sources can prevent you from becoming a victim of social engineering scams. Additionally, creating strong, unique passwords, using two-factor authentication, and regularly updating your software are key steps in securing your accounts and devices against unauthorized access.

Try Keepnet Labs Social Engineering Simulation Tools

Keepnet Labs offers social engineering simulation tools in a unified human risk management platform. These simulation tools and others are designed to protect your organization against social engineering attacks. Don’t let a social engineering attack breach your organization. Use social engineering simulation tools like Voice Phishing (Vishing), QR Code Phishing (Quishing), SMS Phishing (Smishing), MFA Phishing or Callback Phishing, and security awareness training tools to empower your employees to fight against phishing attacks.

Want to learn more about what Keepnet can do for your organization? Watch our full product demo below to see the power of our SaaS platform in action.

What Are The Techniques Used in Social Engineering?

Social engineering techniques play on human emotions and behavioral triggers, which is what makes them so effective. Some of the most common tactics include:

• Impersonation: Attackers pretend to be someone the victim trusts, such as a manager or tech support agent, to exploit the target’s trust.
• Urgency: Messages often invoke fear or pressure the target to act quickly, bypassing their critical thinking.
• Reciprocity: Attackers offer something in return, such as a reward, to manipulate the victim into sharing information.
• Authority: Posing as an authoritative figure—such as a government official or senior executive—forces the target into compliance.
• Familiarity: Attackers make the victim feel comfortable by acting as someone they know.

How Does Social Engineering Happen?

Most social engineering attacks rely on exploiting common human behaviors and can occur through various channels:

• Email: Fake emails are sent to multiple targets, leading them to click malicious links or download harmful attachments.
• Phone Calls: Attackers impersonate legitimate organizations to extract sensitive data over the phone.
• Text Messages: Urgent texts lure victims into providing personal information or downloading malware.
• In-Person: Attackers physically manipulate individuals, such as by tailgating into a secure facility.

These attacks typically leverage a combination of human vulnerability and technological tools to achieve their goals.

How to Protect Your Organization From Social Engineering Attacks?

While you can't entirely prevent social engineering attacks, there are several best practices that will minimize your organization's risk:

Security Awareness Training:Training employees on social engineering examples and warning signs can significantly reduce the likelihood of falling victim to these schemes. Regular phishing simulations can also reinforce good security behaviors.

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Requiring multiple forms of verification for login significantly reduces the success rate of phishing and other social engineering attacks. Even if an attacker obtains credentials, MFA adds an extra layer of defense.

Regularly Update Software and Systems: Keeping your software up to date ensures that any known vulnerabilities are patched, making it harder for attackers to exploit them during social engineering attempts.

Limit Access to Sensitive Information: Limit employee access to only the information and systems necessary for their role, reducing the potential damage in the event of a breach.

Monitor for Anomalies: Utilize behavior-based threat detection systems to flag suspicious activity or unauthorized access attempts.

Enhance Your Defense Against Social Engineering Attacks with Keepnet Security Tools

Defending against social engineering requires more than awareness—it demands hands-on training that prepares your team for real-world threats. Keepnet offers a suite of social engineering simulation tools to help organizations stay ahead of attackers by simulating various human-focused threats.

Here’s how Keepnet’s tools can help safeguard your organization:

• Vishing Simulator: Simulate voice phishing attacks to train and test employees on recognizing fraudulent phone calls and improving security protocols.
• Phishing Simulator: Leverage AI-powered phishing simulations to test your employees' responses. Boost phishing attack reporting by 92% and reduce dwell time by 87%.
• Smishing Simulator: Prepare your team for SMS phishing attacks by training them to identify and avoid deceptive text messages.
• Quishing Simulator: Simulate QR code-based phishing attacks to help employees recognize and avoid malicious QR codes used in emerging threats.
• Callback Phishing Simulator: Train employees to detect and respond to fraudulent callback requests, a growing tactic for bypassing traditional defenses.
• MFA Phishing Simulator: Simulate attacks designed to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) and educate employees on how to spot MFA phishing tactics.
• Awareness Educator: Build a strong security culture with engaging, gamified training courses that teach employees to handle real-world security threats.
• Incident Response: Accelerate your response to phishing, ransomware, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, identifying and mitigating threats up to 48.6 times faster.
• Email Threat Simulator: Test and strengthen your email security systems—such as Office 365 and Google Workspace—to prevent phishing attacks from reaching your team.
• Threat Intelligence and Threat Sharing: Gain actionable insights into current threats and participate in threat sharing communities with 1M+ active threat hunters to improve collective defense.

Keepnet equips your organization with the tools and training needed to turn your employees into a powerful first line of defense against social engineering.

Get started today—schedule a free demo to see how Keepnet can strengthen your defenses and prepare your team for the latest social engineering threats.

This blog was updated on the 7th of October, 2024.