Social Engineering: Hacking the Human

Social engineering is far from a new phenomenon. Long before the digital age, people were deceived using psychological tricks. As early as 1947, the book Illustrated Circular of Confidence Tricksters and Expert Criminals documented notorious con artists around the world — a “Who’s Who” of international swindlers.

Fast forward to today, and cybercriminals have taken these same manipulative tactics online. Modern fraudsters now use social engineering attacks to steal money, data, and corporate credentials through digital deception. Despite the decades that separate old-fashioned scams from modern phishing campaigns, the foundation remains identical: exploiting human psychology to achieve malicious goals.

Social Engineering: Tricks of the Phishing Trade

It only takes one careless click to unleash a cyberattack. That single click can lead to a compromised device, spreading malware across a company’s network, resulting in downtime, financial loss, and reputational damage.

Both marketers and cybercriminals understand the power of emotional response. Marketers aim to engage users to buy a product — cybercriminals aim to elicit the same instinctive reaction to trick users into clicking a malicious link.

Phishing attacks exploit this human behaviour. Cybercriminals can target millions through mass phishing emails (spray and pray) or focus on individuals through spear-phishing. Either way, they rely on predictable digital habits shaped by years of using “seamless” user experiences on websites and apps.

This makes it easier for attackers to manipulate users into clicking — the infamous “click reflex”.

Spotting the Signs of Social Engineering

Cybercriminals use psychological manipulation to mimic trusted human interactions. Understanding these triggers is key to recognising phishing scams:

1. Trust

Fraudsters often impersonate reputable brands such as Microsoft Office 365, Facebook, Google, or eBay. By spoofing familiar companies, scammers exploit trust to steal credentials or financial data. Even cybersecurity brands have been impersonated — for example, a phishing website once spoofed Check Point Software to appear legitimate.

2. Curiosity and Urgency

Many phishing emails create a false sense of urgency, prompting immediate action. A classic example is a “missed voicemail” email that urges the recipient to log into their Office 365 account. The fake “Trusted Server” notification adds further credibility. Once the user enters their login details, the criminals capture them instantly.

3. Persuasion

Effective phishing messages use persuasion principles similar to marketing psychology. According to Dr. Robert Cialdini’s research on influence, fraudsters often rely on:

• Authority: Pretending to be a CEO or senior figure
• Social Proof: Suggesting peers have already complied
• Liking/Similarity: Building rapport by appearing familiar
• Commitment & Reciprocity: Playing on consistency or returning favours
• Distraction: Creating urgency to cloud judgement (e.g., “offer expires soon”)

The Emotional Side of Social Engineering

Emotions play a central role in phishing success. A study by the American Psychological Society found that emotional arousal — whether positive or negative — can cloud judgement across all age groups. Fraudsters exploit these feelings to drive impulsive decisions, from fear of missing out to excitement over a supposed reward.

By manipulating emotions such as trust, fear, and curiosity, attackers bypass rational thinking and increase the likelihood of a click.

How to Stay Safe from Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering remains one of the most dangerous cybersecurity threats because it targets people, not just systems.
To defend against these tactics, individuals and organisations must adopt a layered security approach:

• Security Awareness Training: Educate employees on phishing red flags, suspicious emails, and social engineering strategies.
• Technical Safeguards: Use spam filters, multi-factor authentication, and endpoint protection to detect and block malicious attempts.
• Regular Simulations: Conduct phishing tests to assess awareness and strengthen response habits.

Protect Your Organisation with MetaCompliance HRM Platform

No single solution can completely eliminate phishing threats — but combining human training with advanced cybersecurity tools drastically reduces the risk. Discover how MetaCompliance’s Human Risk Management Platform can help, offering automated security awareness, advanced phishing simulation, and targeted training to protect your organisation from social engineering attacks.