What is social engineering? Social engineering is defined as the manipulation of people to divulge personal and confidential information for the purpose of malicious activity. The process of convincing someone of facts that are not true is a type of social engineering. Scammers are known to impersonate organizations such as Revenue Canada, Microsoft or even your bank and tell you stories to get you scared. People who believe they may have fallen victim to a scam are urged to contact their bank or building society as soon as possible and report it to Action Fraud.There is an abundance of security risks on the internet and on the phones. Santander warns: “Never reply or act on anything without verifying that it’s from a legitimate source.” In some cases banks may not be able to refund a victims’ lost money if they did not take necessary precautions to avoid becoming a victim in the first place. Fraudsters also utilise emails, text or phone calls as part of 'social engineering' scams. This is because remote access provides the scammer with full view and access to a person's computer screen. “You should never allow remote access to your devices unless you have verified that the caller is genuine and trusted.” Santander notes if a victim happens to grant access to the scammer they should never open banking apps or windows. It adds: 'They do this by asking you to download a legitimate app such as TeamViewer or AnyDesk, or by simply getting you to click on a link. These scams see the fraudster impersonate official organisations and persuade victims to give them remote control of their personal computer. READ MORE: Halifax, Santander and Monzo among banks hit by glitch The bank cites remote access scams as a form of social engineering, when fraudsters use legitimate apps in a bid to appear more genuine. Santander warns fraudsters impersonate trusted, genuine companies or individuals, such as a victim’s bank, the police or even personal friends or family members. The bank warned: 'Criminals use sophisticated techniques, invoking fear, panic or building a friendship.' - as The Express reports. Santander has issued a warning to customers over 'social engineering' scams.įraudsters use this tactic to appear trusting and lure victims into sharing personal information.

Teamviewer app scams