Social Engineering and Identity Theft

Social engineering encompasses the manipulation of people through conversation so that they can divulge confidential and personal information that might be used in fraudulent activities. Identity theft involves using individuals’ information such as social security numbers to impersonate oneself when engaging in crime. In most cases, the data obtained by cybercriminals from social engineering is used in identity theft.

Preventing Social Engineering

Several measures exist that can prevent individuals from becoming victims of social engineering. First, a person should not share all confidential information on open social networks (Walker, 2018). Second, one should always use a strong password containing letters, numbers, symbols, and alphanumeric. Third, an individual should not share any information with strangers or virtual friends who pretend to do some favors. Fourth, it is crucial to educate oneself about the tactics used by cybercriminals to steal confidential information such as pretexting, phishing, and baiting (Qamar, 2015). Overall, one should secure a system using a firewall and use up-to-date antivirus.

Protecting Against Identity Theft

People can protect themselves from identity theft by not sharing personal information such as social security number to virtual friends. When someone calls alleging that one has won a lottery and request information such as name, bank account number, and date of birth, a person should not respond (USA.gov, 2018). Moreover, it is critical to pay attention to one’s billing cycles and financial statements to identify red flags. If one uses mobile banking, it is vital to activate the security features. When using a public wireless network, an individual should not share a password or log in bank accounts (O’Shea, 2018). Most importantly, whenever one doubts online financial transactions, it is vital to contact the card issuer and deactivate the MasterCard.

Conclusion

To conclude, the most significant thing is to avoid sharing confidential information with anyone. A person should not reveal private data such as social security number to unknown sources who claim to offer assistance. All in all, it is essential to stay up-to-date when it comes to strategies that hackers use to steal one’s information such as phishing and unsolicited support.

References

O’Shea, B. (2018). How to prevent identity theft. Nerdwallet. Retrieved from https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/how-to-prevent-identity-theft/.

Qamar, A. (2015). Simple tips to manage and prevent social engineering attacks. Hacked. Retrieved from https://www.hackread.com/simple-tips-manage-prevent-social-engineering-attacks/.

USA.gov (2018). Identity theft. Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft.

Walker, E. (2018). 5 ways to reduce the risk of cyber fraud and prevent social engineering. SmilePass. Retrieved from https://smile-pass.com/news/5-ways-reduce-risk-cyber-fraud-prevent-social-engineering/.