Question

Zack sees an online contest. He could win $10,000 instantly! On the sign-up form he enters his name and email address. He is also asked to enter his nickname, the name of any pets, and his mom's maiden name. Should he do it?

Answer 1

Answer:

Do not please! Online hackers and identity thieves can use such informations or clues to figure out Zack's passwords.

Explanation:

In this scenario, Zack sees an online contest stating that he could win $10,000 instantly! On the sign-up form he enters his name and email address. He is also asked to enter his nickname, the name of any pets, and his mom's maiden name.

Hence, it is advisable, that Zack shouldn't do it because online hackers and identity thieves can use such informations or clues to figure out Zack's passwords.

Basically, this type of cyber attack is simply known as baiting in social engineering.

Social engineering can be defined as a manipulative strategy or technique that involves the use of deceptive and malicious activities on unsuspecting victims in order to gain unauthorized access to their confidential or private information for fraud-related purposes. Some examples of social engineering are quid pro quo, phishing, baiting, tailgating etc.