Human Firewall Tip # 10: Social Engineering Indicators (SEI)

We have shared  Social Engineering information from our Human Firewall Tips number 7 to 9. Now on this version of #humanfirewalltipoftheday, we are sharing what are the common Social Engineering Indicators (SEI). SEI are signs or red flags that you are potentially getting scammed or tricked into doing something that you are not even aware of until you learned about the after effect.

Most common indicators are the following but not limited to:

• Urgent requests. Emails, phone calls or even SMS messages will ask you to do something like go to this website and login with your username or passwords or pretending to be someone in your organisation like your CEO that asks you to wire transfer money.
• Asking for help. One of the examples is tailgating to enter your premises. Someone pretending to be a delivery guy who needs to enter your village, office or house. 
• Offer for help. Vishers are pretending to be from someone like a government or technical support company that offers help to fix something like your computers. Depending on the motive, these scammers will either get your personal information or instruct you to download a malware on your computer.
• Unexpected situation. If you are a fan of Mr. Robot, Season 1 episode 6 is a scene wherein one of the characters dropped a USB stick in a prison's parking lot. Very unexpected situation but if you are are going to think about it, this is very suspicious. In the series, the flash drive contains a malware which was used to have access to the prisons computer. Nice series by the way!

As a Human Firewall, we need to be familiar of these common indicators. This will give us an upper hand to prevent a potential data or computer compromise. Being a Human Firewall means being familiar of the "tactics or traits of your enemies" so that you understand how they strike, their motives and weakness. 

Watch this space as we build the Human Firewall together.

Disclaimer: Following the Human Firewall tips are at your own discretion. Any actions you may take upon the information on this page is strictly at your own risk.