How hackers use social engineering: definition, techniques, and prevention

We often associate cyberattacks with computer hacks, which usually start with tricking people. Hackers rely on social engineering techniques to get inside organisations and access sensitive information.

If you’re concerned that your business has been exposed to a social engineering attack, contact Zensec now to assess the risk, train staff and secure your organisation.

It happens in everyday settings, through emails, phone calls, texts, or even face-to-face conversations. Attackers pretend to be someone you trust, like a co-worker, a company leader, or a customer support agent.

Understanding how hackers use social engineering makes it clear why it is such a widespread method in cybercrime. Find out everything you need to know about social engineering in this guide.

The zero trust approach shifts the focus from relying solely on perimeter defences to continually verifying user identity, device health, application behaviour and access requests regardless of where resources or users are located. In simple terms: “never trust, always verify.” This trust security model radically changes how organisations think about secure access, access control and protecting sensitive data.

What is social engineering?

Social engineering relies on manipulating people and causing them to break routine security procedures. Instead of using computer code to force entry, attackers use deception to convince individuals to reveal passwords, confidential data, or provide access to systems.

They often pretend to be authority figures and trusted individuals, asking for requests or information that seems urgent. So, instead of exploiting technical flaws, they take advantage of human nature, sparking emotions including fear, curiosity, and trust.

Common social engineering examples:

Social engineering appears in many forms; here are the ones that people encounter frequently:

• Phishing Emails: Fake messages come from banks, shipping companies, or popular apps asking you to click links or provide login details.

• Vishing Calls: Phone calls from someone pretending to be tech support, asking for passwords or remote access to your computer.

• Smishing Texts: Text messages claiming urgent account problems that direct you to fake websites.

• Pretexting: Creating fake scenarios, like pretending to be a new employee who needs help accessing systems.

Types of social engineering attacks

Social engineering attacks can be grouped by how broadly they target victims and the communication methods they use.

Mass phishing attacks

Mass phishing involves sending many fraudulent messages to a large number of people. These messages can come as emails, texts, or social media messages. Attackers usually pretend to be from well-known organisations such as banks, shipping companies, or popular apps.

The goal is to convince a small number of recipients to click a link, download a file, or provide information. The messages are usually generic, with phrases like “Dear User, your account has a problem, click here to verify.” This approach relies on sending many messages rather than tailoring each.

Phishing emails often use official-looking logos, familiar language, or fake sender addresses to appear genuine. These emails might direct recipients to a fake login page or include attachments with malware.

Spear phishing and whaling

Spear phishing is a targeted form of phishing. Attackers research their victims, gather information from sources such as LinkedIn or social media, and use this information to craft convincing messages. These messages may appear to come from a colleague, business partner, or someone else the victim knows.

Since spear phishing emails are tailored to the target, they are more challenging to identify as scams. For example, a message might refer to a real project and use familiar language, making it seem legitimate.

• Whaling: A subtype of spear phishing that targets high-profile individuals, such as executives. Attackers focus on these “big fish” because they often have access to sensitive information or financial resources.

• Business Email Compromise (BEC): Targeted scams where attackers take over or spoof a real business email account. They send convincing messages to employees or partners, such as fake invoice requests or payment instructions. These attacks rely on trust in business processes and do not require malware.

Multi-channel social engineering

Some attackers use multi-step campaigns that combine emails, phone calls, text messages, and even in-person interactions to make their deception more convincing.

For example, an attacker might send a phishing email and then call the recipient, pretending to be tech support. The phone call makes the email seem more credible. In other cases, an attacker may build a relationship over time by connecting on LinkedIn and then following up with an email request.

Attackers use artificial intelligence and deepfake technology to make these attacks more convincing. For instance, criminals have used AI-generated voices to impersonate executives and request secret transfers.

Why hackers use social engineering tactics

Social engineering tactics are popular because they exploit human psychology and succeed when technology-based attacks don’t.

Bypassing security technology

Most organisations deploy security measures such as firewalls, antivirus programs, and intrusion detection systems, but social engineering offers a way around these defences.

Instead of directly attacking a system, an attacker can contact an employee and convince them to provide access or information.

Even the most advanced security technology cannot prevent someone from willingly giving up their password or letting an attacker into a restricted area, meaning that attackers can bypass automated protections by targeting the people who use the systems.

Cost-effective for attackers

Social engineering is often inexpensive and practical for attackers. Sending a large number of phishing emails or making automated phone calls costs little and requires minimal skill. Even if only a few people respond, attackers can access valuable accounts or data.

Business email compromise, which relies on social engineering, has caused billions of worldwide losses. The combination of low effort and potentially high payouts encourages attackers to continue using these tactics.

Gateway to larger attacks

Social engineering is usually the first step in more serious cyberattacks. For example, a successful phishing email may give the attacker a foothold in an organisation’s network.

Once inside, the attacker can install malware, move through internal systems, or gather more information to launch additional attacks.

The method allows attackers to gradually escalate access and control, sometimes leading to full-scale breaches or ransomware incidents.

How social engineering attacks work

Social engineering attacks typically follow a series of steps rather than happening all at once.

Research and reconnaissance

Attackers collect information about the organisation and specific people they want to target. They look at company websites, news stories, social media accounts, and sometimes data from previous breaches.

Their main goal is to learn names, job roles, relationships, and the common language used inside the company.

For example, if an attacker learns that someone reports to a chief financial officer named Jane Smith, they might send an email pretending to be Jane or a member of her team. The email could mention a real project or event, increasing the chance that the recipient will believe it is genuine.

Initial contact and deception

The attacker contacts the target using the information gathered during reconnaissance. The contact could be an email, phone call, text message, or face-to-face meeting. The attacker uses psychological manipulation to create a pretext (a made-up scenario or identity to lower the target’s guard).

During this phase, attackers use psychological tactics such as:

• Authority: Pretending to be someone in a position of power

• Urgency: Creating time pressure to prevent careful thinking

• Fear: Warning of consequences if action is not taken

• Trust: Building rapport or exploiting existing relationships

Exploitation

This is when the attacker benefits from the deception. Different outcomes are possible depending on the attacker’s goal:

• Credential Theft: The target enters login details into a fake website

• Malware Installation: The target clicks a link or opens a file that installs harmful software

• Information Disclosure: The target shares sensitive documents or data

• Financial Fraud: Someone approves a payment to the attacker’s account

• Physical Access: An attacker gains entry to secure buildings or areas

After gaining access or information, attackers may use the details they obtain to reach further goals, like accessing additional systems or sending new attacks from compromised accounts.

How to prevent social engineering attacks

Preventing social engineering involves a combination of human awareness, set procedures, and technical controls.

Security awareness training

Security awareness training prepares people to identify and respond to social engineering attempts. Training exercises simulate real-life phishing campaigns, phone scams, and suspicious messages. It also covers spotting unusual requests and what to do when something feels suspicious.

Building a culture of security means encouraging everyone to question unusual requests, even if these appear to come from senior staff. Reporting possible attacks and discussing incidents without blame is part of this culture.

Verification procedures

Verification procedures help confirm the identity and intent of anyone making a sensitive request. For example, if someone asks to change a payment account or approve a wire transfer, the request is verified through a different channel, such as calling the official number on file.

Key verification practices include:

• Independent Confirmation: Contacting the sender using known contact information

• Two-Person Approval: Requiring a second person to verify large transactions

• Standard Procedures: Establishing transparent processes for common requests

Technical security measures

While technology alone cannot stop social engineering, it can reduce the number of malicious messages that reach users:

• Email Security Filters: Block common phishing indicators and malware attachments

• Web Filtering: Prevent access to known phishing sites and warn about risky pages

• Multi-Factor Authentication: Requires additional verification beyond passwords

• Access Controls: Limit user permissions to only what is necessary for their role

What to do if targeted

Most social engineering attacks occur due to a lack of vigilance and inadequate measures. However, there are steps you can take to identify social engineering attacks and stop malicious software from infiltrating your systems.

Immediate containment

If someone uses their device to click a suspicious link or open a file, disconnect it from the internet or internal network. You should also change passwords when someone gives their login information away and uses a different device.

Keep evidence of the attack and avoid deleting suspicious emails, messages, or voicemails. Save copies, take screenshots if you can, and record everything you observe about the attack.

Get expert help

Notify the organisation’s security team or IT responders to assess the situation. Severe incidents may require external cyber security experts to secure evidence and further investigate.

For incidents involving money or sensitive data, contact legal advisors and consider involving law enforcement. Quick, honest communication helps ensure other employees are unaffected by the same attack.

Professional incident response teams bring specialised skills to contain threats, investigate what happened, and support recovery while keeping business operations running. They can also provide detailed reports and recommendations to prevent future incidents.

Contact us immediately for expert assistance in strengthening your defences against social engineering or responding to an incident.

FAQs

What makes social engineering more dangerous than technical cyber attacks?

Social engineering attacks focus on influencing people to provide confidential information, rather than breaking into computer systems directly.

Security tools like firewalls and antivirus software can block many technical attacks, but they can’t identify when someone willingly shares their password with a fake IT support caller.

Once an attacker gains someone’s trust, they can reuse the victim’s identity repeatedly, compromising cyber security measures and making the impact last much longer than a single technical breach.

How do cybercriminals research targets for spear phishing attacks?

Attackers gather information from public sources before launching targeted attacks. They search social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook for job roles and personal details, read company news for recent events to reference, and use leaked databases to find contact information.

Some attackers even call companies pretending to conduct surveys to collect details about software or procedures, then use this information to craft believable messages referencing real projects or relationships.

What is the difference between phishing and business email compromise?

Phishing focuses on a high volume approach, sending fake emails to multiple accounts and hoping that someone will click on malicious links or provide login details.

Business email compromise is more targeted and involves attackers taking over real business email accounts or impersonating executives to trick employees into transferring money or sharing sensitive information.

BEC attacks rely entirely on deception and trust rather than malware, making them harder to detect with traditional security tools.

What are the most reliable warning signs of social engineering attempts?

The most consistent warning signs include urgent language demanding immediate action, requests for information through unusual channels (like asking for passwords via email), sender addresses with subtle misspellings of legitimate domains, and attempts to bypass normal verification procedures.

Generic greetings in messages that should be personalised and requests to keep interactions secret are also strong indicators of social engineering attempts.

What should organisations do immediately after discovering a social engineering incident?

Organisations should first disconnect any potentially compromised devices from the network and change any passwords that may have been stolen. All evidence of the attack, including suspicious emails and messages, should be preserved rather than deleted.

It’s also important to immediately notify the internal security team and ask external cyber security experts to offer support when money or data is involved. In some cases, you may also need to contact law enforcement.