Social Engineering & Phishing Attacks Flashcards

What is social engineering in the context of identity theft?

Answer: Manipulating people psychologically to divulge confidential information

Social engineering exploits human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities, tricking victims into revealing sensitive information or performing actions that compromise their security.

Which type of phishing attack is specifically targeted at a named individual or organization rather than sent broadly?

Answer: Spear phishing

Spear phishing targets a specific individual or organization using personalized information to make the attack more convincing and harder to detect.

What is 'vishing' as it relates to social engineering identity theft?

Answer: A voice-based phishing attack conducted over telephone calls

Vishing (voice phishing) uses phone calls where attackers impersonate legitimate entities such as the IRS, banks, or tech support to steal personal information.

Which red flag is MOST commonly associated with a phishing email?

Answer: The email creates urgency and requests immediate action on personal data

Phishing emails typically create a false sense of urgency to pressure victims into acting quickly without verifying the request, such as 'Your account will be closed in 24 hours.'

What is 'pretexting' in social engineering?

Answer: Creating a fabricated scenario to gain a victim's trust and extract information

Pretexting involves creating a believable fabricated story or identity (e.g., posing as a bank auditor) to manipulate the victim into providing sensitive personal information.

What is 'smishing' as used in identity theft attacks?

Answer: Phishing attacks conducted via SMS text messages

Smishing (SMS phishing) uses fraudulent text messages that often contain malicious links or prompt victims to call a number where attackers collect personal data.

What is 'pharming' in the context of online identity threats?

Answer: Redirecting users from a legitimate website to a fraudulent one without their knowledge

Pharming redirects traffic from legitimate websites to malicious lookalike sites by corrupting DNS settings or hosts files, so victims unknowingly enter their credentials on a fake site.