The social engineering test
Most break-ins don’t start with hacking. They start with a phone call, a text, or a friendly stranger at the door. Here are ten real situations to see how you’d do. You get a different mix every time.
Hackers don’t break in.
They get invited in.
On a visit, I walk everyone through the scams that target their age group and set up the safeguards so one bad tap doesn’t cost you.
Same tricks, new costumes
The story changes: a toll bill, a grandson, a gas leak. The levers underneath don’t. Learn to notice them and the specific script stops mattering.
A deadline so short you act before you think. Real problems can wait the five minutes it takes to check.
“Pay by today or…”A bank, the sheriff, IT, your boss. Caller ID, logos, and badges are all easy to fake.
“This is the fraud department.”An arrest, a locked account, a loved one in trouble. Fear shuts down the part of you that would ask questions.
“A warrant has been issued.”A friend’s account, a cloned voice, a lookalike website. It feels safe because it looks like something you know.
“Hi Mom, new number.”Holding a door, sharing a code, doing a favor. Scammers count on you being kind and polite.
“Could you grab the door?”A “confidential” USB drive, a “video of you,” a mystery package. The bait is wanting to know.
“Is this you in this video?”A prize, a job, a sure-thing investment. If it costs money to collect, it isn’t real.
“Just cover the shipping.”When a message or a person pushes you to act, stop and check through a channel you choose: the number on your card, the app you already use, a call to the person you know.
Hang up. Look it up. Call back.