Protecting Wealth Clients from Social Engineering: Outsmarting the Human Hack

Protecting wealth isn’t just about safeguarding investments; it’s about protecting the people, relationships, and trust behind it. That’s why we take social engineering attacks so seriously.

These attacks don’t rely on breaking into systems. Instead, they exploit human trust. It often starts with something that feels ordinary: a phone call, an email, or a text message. The person sounds credible, maybe even claiming to be your advisor’s assistant. They reference personal details that make the interaction feel real. Then, the urgent request comes: approve a wire transfer, verify credentials, or share sensitive information.

For high-net-worth individuals, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

What Is Social Engineering?

Social engineering is the use of psychological manipulation to trick people into giving away information or assets.

Wealth clients are targeted because:

• They delegate details to trusted advisors and assistants.
  
• Their financial profiles make them high-value.
  
• A single success can deliver attackers a significant payout.
  

The Tactics Attackers Use

Phishing & Spear Phishing
Emails crafted with personal details to appear as if they’re from advisors, banks, or family members.

Pretexting
Fraudsters impersonate professionals, such as accountants or firm assistants, to establish credibility before requesting money or sensitive data.

Vishing (Voice Phishing)
Fraudulent calls claiming to be from financial institutions or fraud departments, demanding urgent action.

Social Media Exploits
Details from posts, birthdays, vacations, and even pet names are used to make scams more believable.

The Consequences of Social Engineering Are Real

Social engineering isn’t just about financial loss. It can lead to stress, reputational damage, and shaken confidence in trusted relationships. The FBI reports that billions of dollars are lost annually to these schemes, with wealthy families and executives often being the primary targets.

• Consumers reported fraud-related losses of $12.5 billion in 2024. (Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s “New FTC Data Shows a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 billion in 2024.”)
• One in three people who reported a scam also suffered financial losses. (Source: FTC’s “A Scammy Snapshot of 2024”)
• Phishing & spoofing attacks comprise nearly 1 in 4 cyber crimes reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2024. (Source: FBI IC3 2024 Internet Crime Report)
• A quarter of nation-state campaigns begin their attacks with chit-chat to disarm targets. (Source: Proofpoint The Human Factor 2025, Vol. 1: Social Engineering)
• Generative AI streamlines crafting a believable phishing message to just 5 minutes. (Source: IBM’s AI vs. Human Deceit: Unravelling the New Age of Phishing Tactics)

How Visory Helps Protect You

Visory will collaborate closely with your wealth management team to mitigate risk and enhance protection. We help by:

Least access privileges: Establish role-based access so that users or systems can only reach the information they need to do their job, and nothing more. 

Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication: Adding layers of defense to email, banking, and communication systems.

Building Awareness: Equipping you and your team to recognize red flags, especially urgent or unusual requests.

Providing Ongoing Monitoring: Proactively securing your communications and digital environment.

Our Promise

Your clients’ wealth is more than assets; it’s their legacy, their family, and the trust they’ve placed in you. Social engineers understand this, and they attempt to exploit that trust.

Visory partners with you to ensure protection goes beyond market risks. Together, we help safeguard your clients from the human threats that can compromise both their financial security and their peace of mind.

For more information, please visit our Wealth Management page.