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Social Engineering Tactics contains real-world social engineering tactics used for manipulation, persuasion, and deception. Stay aware and stay secure!

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Social Engineering Tactics

Welcome to the Social Engineering Tactics repository! This repo. contains ** real-world social engineering tactics** used for manipulation, persuasion, and deception. Stay aware and stay secure!

social engineering tactics list

📌 Categories of Social Engineering

  • Psychological Manipulation 🧠
  • Building Trust & Rapport 🤝
  • Elicitation Techniques 🎯
  • Impersonation & Pretexting 🎭
  • Persuasion Tactics 🏆
  • Digital Social Engineering 🌐
  • Physical Social Engineering 🏢
  • Advanced Social Engineering 🚨

🧠 Psychological Manipulation Tactics

  1. Reciprocity Pressure – "Here’s a free sample, now could you buy something?"
  2. Authority Influence – "The CEO asked me to collect this data from you."
  3. Social Proof Manipulation – "Everyone else has done it—why not you?"
  4. Scarcity Effect – "Only 2 spots left! Hurry!"
  5. Commitment & Consistency – "You signed up for a free trial, why not the full plan?"
  6. Urgency Triggers – "Act now before it’s too late!"
  7. Fear-Based Persuasion – "If you don’t update now, you’ll lose your account."
  8. Guilt-Inducing Requests – "I helped you before, can’t you return the favor?"
  9. Exploiting Sympathy – "I lost my wallet, can you lend me money?"
  10. False Sense of Obligation – "You’re my best friend; I know you’ll help me out."

🤝 Building Trust & Rapport

  1. Mirroring & Matching – Copying someone’s gestures to seem relatable.
  2. Compliment-Based Influence – "You’re amazing at this! Can you help me?"
  3. Artificial Common Interests – "Oh, you love photography too? So do I!"
  4. Using Humor to Disarm – Joking before making a request.
  5. Strategic Name-Dropping – "John said you’re the best person to ask."
  6. Fake Shared Experiences – "I remember you from that event last year!"
  7. Using Authority Figures – "Your boss recommended I reach out."
  8. Selective Vulnerability – "I’m new here, could you guide me?"
  9. Forced Familiarity – Acting as if you already know someone.
  10. Using Social Media Info – "I loved your recent post on LinkedIn!"

🎯 Elicitation Techniques

  1. Open-Ended Questioning – "How do you handle password resets?"
  2. False Confession Baiting – "I already know, but I need confirmation."
  3. Strategic Pauses – Staying silent to make the other person talk.
  4. Flattery for Disclosure – "You know so much about this, tell me more!"
  5. Fake Confidentiality – "Just between us, how does your system work?"
  6. Reverse Psychology – "You probably don’t have access to this, right?"
  7. Implying False Info – "Your office is on the 3rd floor, right?"
  8. Playing Dumb – "I don’t understand, can you explain in detail?"
  9. Fake Surveys for Data – "Take our quick security survey for a reward!"
  10. Gossiping to Extract Info – "I heard something about a new project… do you know anything?"

🎭 Impersonation & Pretexting

  1. Posing as IT Support – "We need your login details to fix an issue."
  2. Pretending to Be Lost – "Hey, do you work here? Can you show me around?"
  3. Impersonating an Authority – "I’m from corporate security; I need access."
  4. Calling as a “New Employee” – "Hey, I’m new. What’s the WiFi password?"
  5. Acting as a Delivery Person – "I have a package for the manager—can I drop it off inside?"
  6. Fake Job Offers – "We’d like to hire you; just send us your ID and bank details."
  7. Acting as a Journalist – "I’m writing an article—can you share internal details?"
  8. Fake Emergency Situations – "Your account is compromised! Confirm details now."
  9. Pretending to Be an Old Friend – "Hey, remember me from high school?"
  10. Fake Customer Complaints – "I need my order details; can you verify my account info?"

🌐 Digital Social Engineering

  1. Fake Phishing Emails – "Your password is expiring, reset now!"
  2. Social Media Manipulation – Pretending to be someone else online.
  3. Fake Online Contests – "Win a prize! Enter your details."
  4. Creating False LinkedIn Job Offers – "We have an open position; send us your CV."
  5. Fake Friend Requests – Adding someone to gain personal details.

🏢 Physical Social Engineering

  1. Tailgating into Secure Locations – Following someone through a door.
  2. Dumpster Diving for Data – Looking through trash for useful info.
  3. Shoulder Surfing for Passwords – Watching someone type their password.
  4. Posing as Maintenance Staff – "I need to fix the WiFi in your office."
  5. Using Fake IDs for Entry – Showing a fake badge to enter.

🚨 Advanced Social Engineering

  1. Fake Police or Government Calls – "This is the IRS. We need your details."
  2. Fake HR Emails – "Update your employee records here."
  3. Fake LinkedIn Recruiter Messages – "We have a job opening for you!"
  4. Fake Bank Calls – "We detected suspicious activity—verify your info."
  5. Fake Social Media Giveaways – "You’ve won! Enter your details here."

🛡️ How to Defend Against Social Engineering

  • Always verify identities before sharing information.
  • Be skeptical of urgent or emotionally charged requests.
  • Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect accounts.
  • Limit social media sharing of personal details.
  • Train employees & teams on security awareness.

🌟 Let's Connect!

Hello, Hacker! 👋 We'd love to stay connected with you. Reach out to us on any of these platforms and let's build something amazing together:

🌐 Website: https://yogsec.github.io/yogsec/
📜 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/yogsec
🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/yogsec
💼 LinkedIn (Company): https://www.linkedin.com/company/yogsec/
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogsec.io/
🐦 Twitter (X): https://x.com/yogsec
👨‍💼 Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cybersecurity-pentester/
📧 Email: abhinavsingwal@gmail.com


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