FraudAvengers

SMALL BUSINESS FRAUD: The Danger of Social Engineering

Disturbing news in a recent Washington Post article highlights the insidious dangers of social engineering and the natural human tendency to trust. The piece details the ruse of industry exchanged emails, often with domains or addresses that are trusted and familiar to the receiver, which contain malicious links or attachments. Once clicked or opened, they insert code that allows a back door to be opened into proprietary systems, wreaking havoc, undetected – potentially for years.

The investigation that goes into choosing the target of choice for the malicious emails, often high-level executives or low-level employees, is disturbing to say the least. The profile is derived from an array of sources, including social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, as well as other data mining techniques. Once a profile is established, the hacker then includes specific details relating to the targeted individual in an effort to lower their guard and entice them into launching the hidden malware.

How to protect your organization? Ensure employee security training includes information on social engineering and how to identity not only a potential threat, but how to report it and how to alert the organization. Require all new hires to undergo training and periodic reminders. Prevention is better than reaction.

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Deanna Jones (DJ) CFE is an Investigator within ID Experts’ Special Investigations Unit. She came to ID Experts from the Portland Police Bureau and has an extensive background in legal and insurance investigations for plaintiff case preparation, backgrounds and workman’s compensation fraud. She also worked with the former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, now under the US Treasury, where she assisted with regulatory investigations and compliance. DJ has obtained government security clearance through her duties at ID Experts and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She holds a BA in English and Journalism and a MS is Criminology.