In social media terms, social engineering refers to the manipulative tactics employed by individuals or entities to deceive and exploit users for personal gain or malicious purposes. It involves psychological manipulation and the exploitation of human trust and behaviour rather than relying solely on technical vulnerabilities.
Social engineering techniques in social media can include:
- Phishing: Sending deceptive messages or links through social media platforms, aiming to trick users into revealing sensitive information like usernames, passwords, or financial details.
- Impersonation: Creating fake profiles or impersonating trusted individuals or organizations to gain the trust of users and extract information, spread malware, or engage in other harmful activities.
- Baiting: Offering enticing content, such as exclusive offers, rewards, or downloads, to lure users into clicking on malicious links or downloading harmful files.
- Pretexting: Crafting a convincing pretext or story to manipulate users into providing sensitive information or granting unauthorized access to their accounts.
- Social Manipulation: Exploiting social connections and relationships on social media to gain trust, influence behaviour, or deceive users into taking certain actions.
- Clickjacking: Tricking users into clicking on hidden or disguised buttons or links that lead to unintended actions, such as sharing content or unknowingly giving permissions to malicious applications.
- Spear Phishing: Customizing phishing attempts by gathering personal information about a specific individual or group to make the fraudulent communication appear more legitimate and trustworthy.
It is crucial for social media users to be vigilant, exercise scepticism, and employ security measures like strong passwords, privacy settings, and verifying the authenticity of messages and requests before sharing any sensitive information or engaging in actions that could compromise their security and privacy.
It is crucial for social media users to be vigilant, exercise scepticism, and employ security measures like strong passwords, privacy settings, and verifying the authenticity of messages and requests before sharing any sensitive information or engaging in actions that could compromise their security and privacy.
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