When a fraudster calls someone at the target company and cajoles or tricks the person into providing valuable information, this technique is referred to as which?

When a fraudster calls someone at the target company and cajoles or tricks the person into providing valuable information, this technique is referred to as which?

• A. Spamming
• B. Social engineering
• C. Replicating
• D. None of the above

Answer: (B)

Social engineering is the manipulation of people to reveal confidential information or grant access by exploiting trust, authority, or urgency. When a fraudster calls a target and cajoles or tricks the person into providing valuable information, the attacker uses psychological tactics to bypass technical defenses. This is a classic example of social engineering, and the phone-based form is often called vishing. Spamming involves bulk unsolicited messages and doesn’t hinge on deceiving a specific person into sharing secrets. The term replicating isn’t the standard label for this tactic.

Social engineering is the manipulation of people to reveal confidential information or grant access by exploiting trust, authority, or urgency. When a fraudster calls a target and cajoles or tricks the person into providing valuable information, the attacker uses psychological tactics to bypass technical defenses. This is a classic example of social engineering, and the phone-based form is often called vishing. Spamming involves bulk unsolicited messages and doesn’t hinge on deceiving a specific person into sharing secrets. The term replicating isn’t the standard label for this tactic.