{"id":82158,"date":"2017-11-10T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T17:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=82158"},"modified":"2025-08-13T23:05:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T06:05:35","slug":"social-engineering-scammers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/social-engineering-scammers\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Social Engineering is a Scammer\u2019s Secret Weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Criminals and scammers love to trick, deceive and manipulate their victims into handing over sensitive information, and money. This kind of exploitation is often referred to as social engineering, and it\u2019s worth knowing about because although the scams change, the methods remain the same.<\/p>\n

Social engineering can happen online, over the phone, or even in person. Scammers often try to win your trust by pretending to be legitimate businesses or person, offering you a great deal, or playing on your sympathies. Just think of the now-famous Nigerian prince scam<\/a>, in which fraudsters would ask for help accessing a large sum of money, and request the victim\u2019s banking details to complete a money transfer in exchange for a payout. Not only did these scams play on victims\u2019 sympathies, but also their desire for easy money. Modern-day scams work much the same way.<\/p>\n

Most Popular Scams<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at some of the most popular scams now, and how social engineering plays a part.<\/p>\n

Ransomware\u2014<\/strong>This online threat has grabbed headlines for a reason: it\u2019s frightening, and it works. Ransomware, which has grown exponentially over the last three years, usually starts with the victim downloading what looks like an innocuous file, or even clicking on a dangerous webpage. Scammers use social engineering to get users to click by offering something free (like a gaming app), or enticing, like an email prize notification, or shocking headline.<\/p>\n

Once the victim downloads the infected file, it locks up their computer or device and demands money before the victim can regain access to their files. These could include personal photos or sensitive tax and identity information, which is what makes this scam so scary. The trick is, even if you pay the ransom you may never get access to your files. That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to back up your files on an external hard drive or through a cloud storage service.<\/p>\n

The CEO Scam<\/strong>\u2014This scam is usually done via email, and takes advantage of our assumption that anything that comes from a known email address can be trusted. The cybercriminals will spoof, or fake, an email address of a top executive in a company and then use that spoofed address to send messages requesting sensitive or private information from other members of the organization, like wage details, Social Security numbers, and financial records.<\/p>\n

This data can then be used to file a fraudulent tax return and receive a refund, or apply for credit in a victim\u2019s name, for example. Because the email address appears to come from within the organization, and recipients are accustomed to complying with work requests, it\u2019s a very easy scam to fall for.<\/p>\n

The Free Vacation Scam\u2014<\/strong>Always a classic, the phone scam still hooks a ton of victims each year. Once again, the social engineering scammers are taking advantage of our desire for things that are free, or a great deal. They usually start by telling the victims that they have won a vacation to Las Vegas or another sought-after locale, and all they need to do is provide their credit card number to pay for a tax or other fees.<\/p>\n

Now that you know how social engineering works in common scams, here are some tips to help you steer clear of any new versions of these old tricks:<\/p>\n