27. Social Engineering Awareness
27.1 What Social Engineering Is and Why It Works
Social engineering is manipulating people into giving up information or access – no exploit needed, just human nature. Attacker technical suraksha baju la sarun thet mansala target karto.
It works because attackers push psychological buttons:
| Trigger | How it is used |
|---|---|
| Authority | "I am calling from the bank / your manager / income tax." |
| Urgency / fear | "Your account will be blocked in 10 minutes!" |
| Greed / reward | "You won ₹10,00,000 – click to claim." |
| Trust / familiarity | A message that looks like it is from a friend or a known company |
| Helpfulness | "I am new here, can you just let me in / share the OTP?" |
| Curiosity | A USB drive labelled "Salary details" left in the office |
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Lakshat theva: kontihi khari bank, company kiwa government tumcha OTP, password kiwa PIN phone var kadhihi vicharat nahi. Konihi ha vicharla mhanje to 100% fraud aahe – kitihi "official" vatla tari. Ha ek niyam tumchya kutumbala aavarjun shikva.
Practice task
In your notes, list three times you or someone you know got a suspicious call or message. For each, write which psychological trigger (authority, urgency, greed...) the attacker used.