Written by:
1/26/2011 12:27 PM 

I think I would know if I was a criminal.

I mean, really. If I was going to defraud a business from thousands of dollars, or compile forbidden government secrets for future dastardly uses, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do it by accident.

And yet, according to a recent Softpedia article, social engineers are using threats and accusations of criminal activity or debt non-payment to cause regular, law-abiding citizens to second-guess themselves—and even pay imaginary fines and give away valuable personal information to strangers to avoid getting into trouble.

Threats and the promise of punishment are one of many tools in a social engineer’s emotional-manipulation toolbox—and they use it in all sorts of ways. A social engineer may threaten to report employees if they don’t provide sensitive company information. In this case, he may accuse an innocent bystander of a heinous crime, just because he visited the WikiLeaks website.

The scary part is that it works—all the time. After all, it’s human nature to start scrambling for the exit when you feel threatened. Throw in a confrontational phone call and a couple of looming fines, and you might even find yourself buying your way out of a life of crime—just to get back in your comfort zone.

My advice: don’t do it! Don’t give in to a vishing scam (social engineering by phone) just to get someone off the phone. Treat any phone call from a stranger just like an email you weren’t expecting: with caution. And never pay fines, give out your credit card number, or do anything without getting a statement in writing.

You are innocent—so stand your ground, defend yourself, and just hang up the phone. Unless you really are an Al Capone wannabe. In that case, keep your head down and run for cover.

Read more about it here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/WikiLeak-Themed-Vishing-Attack-Targets-US-Consumers-179619.shtml

Trackback Print

Tags:

Categories:

Location: Blogs Miranda Nerland