Social Engineering
MetacognitionDefinition
The use of psychological manipulation to trick people into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. Social engineering exploits human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities.
How It Shows Up Internally
Social engineering often creates urgency, pressure, or trust that feels legitimate. You might feel pressured to help, afraid of consequences, or confident you're dealing with authority.
Examples
- 1Phishing emails that impersonate trusted institutions
- 2Phone calls pretending to be tech support
- 3Pretexting—creating false scenarios to extract information
Related Patterns
authority exploitationurgency manipulation