Social Engineering: Five Typical Scenarios Targeting Your Finances

Social engineering is an attack not on a computer, but on a person. In a financial context, it's a standard set of scenarios used to extract money. They all rely on one principle: creating a state in the victim where they don't stop to think.

Call from the Bank's Security Service

The most widespread scenario in the CIS and beyond. Someone calls, claiming to be from the bank's security service, saying suspicious transactions have been detected. To protect your account, they ask you to transfer money to a safe account or dictate a one-time code.

Rule: The bank never calls you first and never asks you to transfer money or dictate a code. If in doubt, hang up and call the bank yourself using the number on the back of your card.

Service Support Employee

A variant for crypto and online services: support from Binance, MetaMask, OpenAI contacts you via Telegram or Discord and offers to help solve a problem. They ask you to connect your wallet, enter your seed phrase for verification, or install TeamViewer.

Rule: Real support from major services never initiates contact via Telegram/Discord. They all have ticket systems or official chats, and the initiative always comes from the user.

Urgent Email from the Director

A scenario targeting accountants and finance staff. An email from the director requesting an urgent payment to a counterparty using the details in the email. Often the director is on vacation or in a meeting, unreachable via other channels.

Rule: For payments outside the normal process, get voice confirmation from a known number—not the one in the email. And no urgent, now, without approval for large transfers.

Romance Scenario

A long game: meeting online, months of communication, shared plans, and then—I urgently need money, I'll pay you back in a week, or I found a great investment, let's invest together. The investment is often a crypto platform controlled by the attacker.

Rule: A stranger online whom you haven't met in person, and who after some time asks for money or offers an investment—this is a pattern. No exceptions.

Fake Job Vacancy

A job offer with a high salary. During the onboarding process, they ask you to pay for training, equipment, visa, background check. Sometimes more creatively—they ask you to install corporate software that turns out to be a trojan.

Rule: An employer never asks a candidate for money at any stage. And they don't require installing software on your personal computer before signing a contract.

General Principle

Any scenario where someone rushes you, pressures your emotions (fear, pity, greed, excitement), and demands immediate action—is a reason to stop and verify through an independent channel.