The Role of Pretexting in Cyber Attacks I Arctic Wolf

**Executive summary:** This article defines and explains pretexting — a social engineering technique where attackers create believable false identities and scenarios to trick users into divulging credentials, granting access, or transferring funds — describes the common attack steps (reconnaissance, contact, impersonation, social manipulation, exploitation), highlights common forms like spear phishing and BEC (with an MGM vishing example), and recommends mitigation measures such as security awareness training and email security tools to reduce human risk.