{
	"id": "6c807718-72b1-48a2-a6ff-f661659cb7bf",
	"created_at": "2026-04-06T01:30:53.23304Z",
	"updated_at": "2026-04-10T13:11:53.912607Z",
	"deleted_at": null,
	"sha1_hash": "21b0c620249964b32acc14db286de90a50d967c7",
	"title": "Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks | CISA",
	"llm_title": "",
	"authors": "",
	"file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_size": 49894,
	"plain_text": "Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks | CISA\r\nPublished: 2021-02-01 · Archived: 2026-04-06 00:57:27 UTC\r\nWhat is a social engineering attack?\r\nIn a social engineering attack, an attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise\r\ninformation about an organization or its computer systems. An attacker may seem unassuming and respectable,\r\npossibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and even offering credentials to support that\r\nidentity. However, by asking questions, he or she may be able to piece together enough information to infiltrate an\r\norganization's network. If an attacker is not able to gather enough information from one source, he or she may\r\ncontact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the first source to add to his\r\nor her credibility.\r\nWhat is a phishing attack?\r\nPhishing is a form of social engineering. Phishing attacks use email or malicious websites to solicit personal\r\ninformation by posing as a trustworthy organization. For example, an attacker may send email seemingly from a\r\nreputable credit card company or financial institution that requests account information, often suggesting that\r\nthere is a problem. When users respond with the requested information, attackers can use it to gain access to the\r\naccounts.\r\nPhishing attacks may also appear to come from other types of organizations, such as charities. Attackers often take\r\nadvantage of current events and certain times of the year, such as\r\nNatural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Indonesian tsunami)\r\nEpidemics and health scares (e.g., H1N1, COVID-19)\r\nEconomic concerns (e.g., IRS scams)\r\nMajor political elections\r\nHolidays\r\nWhat is a vishing attack?\r\nVishing is the social engineering approach that leverages voice communication. This technique can be combined\r\nwith other forms of social engineering that entice a victim to call a certain number and divulge sensitive\r\ninformation. Advanced vishing attacks can take place completely over voice communications by exploiting Voice\r\nover Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions and broadcasting services. VoIP easily allows caller identity (ID) to be\r\nspoofed, which can take advantage of the public's misplaced trust in the security of phone services, especially\r\nlandline services. Landline communication cannot be intercepted without physical access to the line; however, this\r\ntrait is not beneficial when communicating directly with a malicious actor.\r\nWhat is a smishing attack?\r\nhttps://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks\r\nPage 1 of 3\n\nSmishing is a form of social engineering that exploits SMS, or text, messages. Text messages can contain links to\r\nsuch things as webpages, email addresses or phone numbers that when clicked may automatically open a browser\r\nwindow or email message or dial a number. This integration of email, voice, text message, and web browser\r\nfunctionality increases the likelihood that users will fall victim to engineered malicious activity.\r\nWhat are common indicators of phishing attempts?\r\nSuspicious sender's address. The sender's address may imitate a legitimate business. Cybercriminals often\r\nuse an email address that closely resembles one from a reputable company by altering or omitting a few\r\ncharacters.\r\nGeneric greetings and signature. Both a generic greeting—such as \"Dear Valued Customer\" or\r\n\"Sir/Ma'am\"—and a lack of contact information in the signature block are strong indicators of a phishing\r\nemail. A trusted organization will normally address you by name and provide their contact information.\r\nSpoofed hyperlinks and websites. If you hover your cursor over any links in the body of the email, and\r\nthe links do not match the text that appears when hovering over them, the link may be spoofed. Malicious\r\nwebsites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different\r\ndomain (e.g., .com vs. .net). Additionally, cybercriminals may use a URL shortening service to hide the\r\ntrue destination of the link.\r\nSpelling and layout. Poor grammar and sentence structure, misspellings, and inconsistent formatting are\r\nother indicators of a possible phishing attempt. Reputable institutions have dedicated personnel that\r\nproduce, verify, and proofread customer correspondence.\r\nSuspicious attachments. An unsolicited email requesting a user download and open an attachment is a\r\ncommon delivery mechanism for malware. A cybercriminal may use a false sense of urgency or importance\r\nto help persuade a user to download or open an attachment without examining it first.\r\nHow do you avoid being a victim?\r\nBe suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about\r\nemployees or other internal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate\r\norganization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company.\r\nDo not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or\r\nnetworks, unless you are certain of a person's authority to have the information.\r\nDo not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this\r\ninformation. This includes following links sent in email.\r\nDon't send sensitive information over the internet before checking a website's security. (See Protecting\r\nYour Privacy for more information.)\r\nPay attention to the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a website. Look for URLs that begin with\r\n\"https\"—an indication that sites are secure—rather than \"http.\"\r\nLook for a closed padlock icon—a sign your information will be encrypted.\r\nIf you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly.\r\nDo not use contact information provided on a website connected to the request; instead, check previous\r\nstatements for contact information. Information about known phishing attacks is also available online from\r\ngroups such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group . (See the APWG eCrime Research Papers ).\r\nhttps://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks\r\nPage 2 of 3\n\nInstall and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters to reduce some of this traffic. (See\r\nUnderstanding Firewalls for Home and Small Office Use, Protecting Against Malicious Code, and\r\nReducing Spam for more information.)\r\nTake advantage of any anti-phishing features offered by your email client and web browser.\r\nEnforce multifactor authentication (MFA). (See Supplementing Passwords for more information.)\r\nWhat do you do if you think you are a victim?\r\nIf you believe you might have revealed sensitive information about your organization, report it to the\r\nappropriate people within the organization, including network administrators. They can be alert for any\r\nsuspicious or unusual activity.\r\nIf you believe your financial accounts may be compromised, contact your financial institution immediately\r\nand close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable charges to your\r\naccount.\r\nImmediately change any passwords you might have revealed. If you used the same password for multiple\r\nresources, make sure to change it for each account, and do not use that password in the future.\r\nWatch for other signs of identity theft. (See Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft for more\r\ninformation.)\r\nConsider reporting the attack to the police, and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.\r\nSource: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks\r\nhttps://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks\r\nPage 3 of 3",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"MITRE"
	],
	"origins": [
		"web"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks"
	],
	"threat_actors": [],
	"ts_created_at": 1775439053,
	"ts_updated_at": 1775826713,
	"ts_creation_date": 0,
	"ts_modification_date": 0,
	"files": {
		"pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/21b0c620249964b32acc14db286de90a50d967c7.pdf",
		"text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/21b0c620249964b32acc14db286de90a50d967c7.txt",
		"img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/21b0c620249964b32acc14db286de90a50d967c7.jpg"
	}
}