How to Prevent Social Engineering Attacks: Phishing, Pig Butchering & More
Trust is a business essential.
It wins clients, strengthens teams, and fuels partnerships. But hackers are using it to their advantage.
Social engineering attacks are no longer clumsy email scams.
They’re sophisticated, AI-powered, and designed to deceive even your most experienced team members into transferring money, sharing sensitive data, or granting access to critical systems.
It all seems real, until it isn’t.
So, what exactly are you up against?
And more importantly, how can you protect your business?
Top 3 Social Engineering Threats
Social engineering is when criminals manipulate people into giving up confidential information, transferring money to fraudulent accounts or making poor security decisions.
Here are the 3 most common types of social engineering attacks your business could face:
1. Phishing Emails and Texts.
Phishing is nothing new.
You’ve likely received one of those poorly worded emails pretending to be your bank. But modern phishing attacks have evolved.
Today’s scammers thoroughly research you and your company.
They impersonate your suppliers, clients, or even senior staff. Their emails are expertly crafted to mimic legitimate communications, complete with logos, accurate contact details, and references to actual transactions.
The pressure is often turned up with subject lines like: “Urgent Payment Required to Avoid Penalty” or “Final Notice: Account Suspension Imminent.”
This urgency is deliberate. It exploits your team’s instinct to act quickly.
And that’s when mistakes happen.
2. Pig Butchering Scams
This highly sophisticated scam is increasingly targeting businesses, not just individuals.
The name comes from the fraudsters’ strategy: they “fatten up” their victims (gaining trust over time) before exploiting them financially.
It often starts with a seemingly harmless LinkedIn request, email from an investor, or outreach from a supposed vendor.
Fraudsters nurture relationships over weeks or months, posing as trusted contacts before introducing a lucrative investment – often linked to cryptocurrency or exclusive deals.
Initial “returns” may seem real, but when the victim tries to withdraw funds, the money just disappears.
3. Deepfakes
Imagine getting a call from your CFO asking you to urgently transfer £50,000.
You recognise their voice. The tone, the familiar phrases, it all sounds exactly like them. But it isn’t.
Cybercriminals are using AI tools to clone voices. By gathering samples from interviews, videos, or internal meetings, they can create disturbingly accurate imitations.
And it doesn’t stop there.
AI-powered video manipulation can now replicate someone’s face in real-time. Fraudsters can impersonate a vendor on a Zoom call, discussing a payment that seems completely legitimate.
Both techniques exploit urgency, pressuring victims to act without caution.
Though still relatively rare, these deepfake scams have already cost some businesses millions.
But why do these attacks work?
Because social engineering attacks exploit our natural responses:
- Trust (We believe people we know.)
- Urgency (We act quickly under pressure.)
- Authority (We follow instructions from senior figures.)
The reality is, no amount of software can fully prevent your finance manager from trusting what seems like a legitimate investment opportunity from a trusted contact.
So, the real question is: What can you do to stop it?
1. Train Your Team
Social engineering is a human problem, which means it requires a human solution.
Your team can be your greatest defence, but only if they know what to look for and feel confident enough to speak up when something seems wrong.
Here’s 4 ways to build that confidence:
a) Start from the Top
- Training isn’t just for junior staff. Senior leaders are prime targets because they authorise payments and hold key information.
- Your team must be prepared to challenge unusual requests, even if they come from the CEO.
- If security is a visible priority, employees will feel more responsible. It must become a feature in meetings and you should reward good behaviour.
b) Make Training Feel Real
- Forget dull presentations. Simulate phishing attempts based on real supplier emails.
- Conduct mock deepfake voice and video exercises to see how your team actually responds under pressure.
c) Focus on High-Stakes Decisions
- Payments, supplier changes, password resets are all high risk areas.
- Treat any unsolicited financial offers with extreme caution. Teach your team to pause and verify every time. Especially when it feels uncomfortable.
d) Repeat and Reinforce
- Social engineering plays on instinct, so training can’t be a one-off. Repetition is the only way to actually build those secure habits.
- Schedule quarterly refreshers and encourage ongoing discussions.
Build a culture where questioning is standard practice.
For those of you looking for a trusted provider, you’re in the right place.
At Cyber Alchemy, we offer tailored Cyber Awareness Training designed to give your team the confidence and skills to stop social engineering attacks in their tracks.
2. Strengthen Access Control
Social engineering attacks often aim to exploit poor access controls.
Login Credential Theft:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds a second layer of security, like a one-time code, preventing unauthorised access even if passwords are stolen.
- Prioritise securing finance, HR, and data platforms with strong authentication controls.
- Encourage employees to use strong, unique passwords and be cautious of phishing attempts designed to steal credentials.
Pig Butchering Scams:
- Enforce multi-person approval for financial transfers, vendor payments, and high-value transactions.
- Train employees to verify all financial and data-related requests through a separate, trusted channel.
- Require independent verification especially for investment opportunities.
Never use the contact details provided in an email or message. Always confirm via a known, legitimate source.
Fraudsters rely on urgency and deception. Taking a moment to verify can prevent costly mistakes.
3. Use AI Technology to Spot Deepfakes
AI is powering scams but it can also be used to defend against them.
New tools can analyse voices and videos for subtle inconsistencies that humans might miss:
- Voice Analysis Software picks up audio irregularities in fake calls.
- Video Authentication Tools can flag deepfakes by identifying unnatural blinking, odd lighting, or stiff facial movements.
- Real-Time Verification prompts quick security checks before large payments – like a facial scan or fingerprint confirmation.
Is this overkill?
Not if your business regularly handles high-value transactions. The cost of one successful scam can dwarf the price of these tools.
Take Action
These threats aren’t coming, they are already here. And businesses across the UK are being targeted right now.
To stay ahead, you need to:
- Audit your vulnerabilities
- Train your people
- Test resilience
- Enforce MFA
- Consider AI detection (if your budget allows).
Cybersecurity is no longer just about antivirus software and firewalls. It’s about building a team whose first instinct is to pause, question, and verify.
Every. Single. Time.
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Worried about keeping your business safe from the latest scams?
We can help.
At Cyber Alchemy, we’ll give your team the skills to outsmart social engineering and keep your business secure.
