Social engineering refers to the misuse of human characteristics, such as curiosity, trust, greed, fear and ignorance. Criminals (social engineers) try to obtain confidential information. They try to ascertain your personal details and security codes (phishing), for example, or install malicious software.

How does social engineering work?
You can come across social engineering in all kinds of digital places at work. For example:

• Criminals may use a fake work phone number to appear to be one of your colleagues in order to obtain sensitive information. Criminals may also request your passwords in fake e-mails or on fake websites (phishing).
  
  
• After clicking on a link from a website or a message, a notification appears that something has gone wrong. You are advised to install software to fix the error. Never do this!

What can you do to combat social engineering?
Social engineering takes many different forms, so it is difficult to provide clear and simple advice. In any case, be alert if:

• you are asked for personal details via the internet (for example via LinkedIn);
• you are asked to provide personal information, such as your telephone number or login details, to random (unknown) persons.