Social engineering facts for kids

Social Engineering (also known as Social Manipulation) is a clever way to trick people. The goal is to get private information, like passwords or credit card numbers. People who do this, called Social Engineers, watch others closely. They might pretend to be someone else. They do this to get secrets or free things. Often, Social Engineering is used to get into computer systems. This lets them look at private data. When used with computers, it's also known as Social Hacking.

How Social Engineering Started

Early Tricks: Phreaking

An early form of Social Engineering appeared in the 1980s. It was called Phreaking. Phreakers would call phone companies. They would pretend to be system administrators. Then they would ask for passwords. They used these passwords to connect to the Internet for free. This was done without permission.

Modern Tricks: Phishing

A more modern type of Social Engineering is called Phishing. This name comes from "fishing" because it tries to "fish" for your information. Phishing tries to get your Internet data. It often uses fake website addresses.

The most common way of Phishing is Fraud Mailing or Scam Mailing. Here, you get a fake email, often pretending to be from a bank. These scam emails usually have a link. This link takes you to a fake website. This fake website then records your login name and password. Hackers often use a trick called DNS-Spoofing. This makes the sender's email address look real.

How Social Engineering Works

Common Methods

A common way Social Engineering works is through fake phone calls. A Social Engineer might call people at a company. They pretend to be a technician. They say they need private information to fix something important.

Before making the call, the attacker learns about the company. They might find information from public sources. They also might learn from past attempts. This knowledge helps them sound more believable.

The trickster tries to confuse their victims. They also try to seem trustworthy. They might use technical words. They also try to make small talk. The attacker might also pretend to be in charge. This is to make people feel scared. Sometimes, the employee might even be expecting a call for technical help.

How to Stay Safe

Stopping Social Engineering can be tricky. Attackers use normal human behaviors. They might use your helpfulness in emergencies. Or they might use your desire to help someone who seems helpful.

Being completely distrustful would make teamwork hard. The best way to avoid Social Engineering is to check who is calling. You can ask for the caller's name and phone number. Politely ask them to wait. Do this even if their problem seems very urgent. Even if you confirm who they are, only share necessary information.

Famous Social Engineers

Social Engineering became well-known because of Kevin David “Condor” Mitnick. He was one of the most wanted people in the United States. He successfully got into government systems. These included the Pentagon and the NSA. Movies like “Takedown” (also known as “Hackers 2”) are about him.

Another well-known Social Engineer is Frank Abagnale. He was famous for check scams. The movie “Catch Me If You Can” is based on his story.

See also

In Spanish: Ingeniería social para niños