---
title: "Social Engineering (Phishing & Deceptive Sites): What You Need to Know"
description: "## **What is Social Engineering?** Social engineering tricks visitors into dangerous actions like: - Revealing personal info (passwords, phone numbers, credit cards) - Downloading unwanted or harmful software - Calling fake tech support numbers It usually **masquerades as a trusted…"
url: "https://fsidm.in/knowledge/seo/social-engineering/"
updated: "2025-10-23"
category: SEO
---

# Social Engineering (Phishing & Deceptive Sites): What You Need to Know

## **What is Social Engineering?**

Social engineering tricks visitors into dangerous actions like:

- Revealing personal info (passwords, phone numbers, credit cards)
- Downloading unwanted or harmful software
- Calling fake tech support numbers

It usually **masquerades as a trusted entity** — like a bank, government site, browser alert, or popular service.

## **Types of Social Engineering Attacks**

| **Type** | **What it Does** | **Example** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Phishing** | Tricks users to share sensitive info | Fake Google login page |
| **Deceptive Content** | Tricks users into unsafe actions or downloads | Fake “Update your browser” popup |
| **Insufficiently labeled 3rd party services** | Hidden 3rd-party tools acting on your site, without clear branding | Charity using a 3rd-party donation site without disclosure |

## **How Google Detects & Protects Users**

- Chrome shows a **“Deceptive site ahead” warning** for flagged sites
- Google Safe Browsing warns users before they visit dangerous pages
- Embedded deceptive ads or pop-ups on otherwise safe sites can get those sites flagged too

## **Common Examples of Social Engineering**

- **Fake update pop-ups** urging you to install software
- **Fake login pages** mimicking real services (check the URL carefully!)
- Ads disguised as page buttons or media players, leading to malware installs

## **What If You Don’t Do Social Engineering — But Got Flagged?**

Sometimes:

- Hackers inject deceptive content or create fake pages on your site
- 3rd-party ads or widgets show deceptive content you didn’t know about

**Check your site NOW:**

1. Open **Google Search Console → Security Issues report**
2. Look for flagged URLs or deceptive content warnings
3. Inspect your site pages and ads (refresh several times; mobile and desktop views may differ)
4. Remove or block any deceptive content or ads
5. Check all third-party resources for compliance and clear branding

## **How to Fix & Prevent Social Engineering Issues**

- Remove all deceptive content from your site
- Clearly disclose any 3rd-party services and their role on your site
- Use trusted third-party services that follow industry standards (e.g., OAuth for authentication)
- Request a **security review** via Search Console after cleanup — it can take several days

## **Best Practices for Third-Party Services**

- Display clear branding for all 3rd-party services on every relevant page
- Explicitly state the relationship between your site (first party) and the 3rd party
- Provide links for users to learn more about the 3rd party
- Make sure users always know which site they are on, even when 3rd-party content is involved

### **FSIDM Quick Tip:**

**Always keep an eye on embedded ads and third-party scripts!** Even if your site is clean, these can be a backdoor for social engineering content.