Netgain

Remember the great con-artist, Gregor MacGregor, known as the “king of all con-men?” He convinced people to invest in an entirely fictitious country that he had conjured up. More recently, remember Bernie Madoff, the con-artist who made off with more than $65 billion of investors’ money in a ponzi-scheme?

In the past, great con-artists only preyed on the rich and famous, but that’s changed. New modern-day con-artists come in the form of hackers using social engineering tactics to steal the money and identities of regular people every day.

Social Engineering is the psychological manipulation of people in an effort to have them perform actions or divulge confidential information, and it is a major security issue. For centuries, con artists have used this method to gather confidential information for criminal use. In the modern world, the con artist has additional tactics including the installation of malware.