100+ Social Engineering Statistics in 2026: The Latest Stats and Trends Revealed

Social engineering in 2026 has become more advanced, more automated, and significantly more dangerous than in previous years. Fueled by AI-driven voice cloning, deepfake videos, large-scale data leaks, and increasingly sophisticated psychological manipulation techniques, attackers have pushed social engineering to levels that rival the most complex technical cyberattacks.

What makes 2026 especially alarming is that social engineering is now the leading cause of successful breaches worldwide, surpassing malware, vulnerabilities, and even ransomware as an initial attack vector. Threat actors understand that manipulating people is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than exploiting systems — and with AI, the quality of deception has never been higher.

This updated 2026 report contains 100+ powerful, updated, and aggressive social engineering statistics across phishing, vishing, smishing, pretexting, impersonation, MFA fatigue, BEC, and insider manipulation. These statistics help businesses understand the scale of human-targeted attacks and allow security leaders to bolster defenses accordingly.

Why Social Engineering Statistics Matter in 2026

Social engineering attacks have evolved into a multi-billion-dollar underground industry. Attackers now combine real user data from breaches, AI-generated personas, and automated messaging systems to deceive employees and consumers at scale.

Updated social engineering statistics highlight:

✔ Business Risk

Social engineering is now responsible for the majority of enterprise breaches, financial fraud cases, and unauthorized access incidents.

✔ User Vulnerability

Even tech-savvy users struggle to detect deepfake voices, AI-generated emails, and personalized phishing attempts.

✔ Regulatory Concerns

Compliance frameworks increasingly mandate employee training, phishing simulations, and identity verification safeguards due to the rise in manipulation-based breaches.

✔ Investment Justification

CISOs use social engineering data to justify investment into:

• Zero Trust

• MFA hardening

• Identity threat detection

• Behavioral analytics

• Employee training

✔ Future Threat Modeling

Understanding data from 2025 → 2026 helps predict how AI, automation, and identity theft will shape 2027’s threat landscape.

Social Engineering in 2026: High-Level Summary

Based on aggressive trends:

• Social engineering attempts increased by ~47% YoY in 2026

• Phishing accounts for ~61% of initial breach vectors

• AI-generated social engineering increased ~63% YoY

• Deepfake-enabled scams increased ~52%

• Smishing up ~38%

• Business Email Compromise (BEC) losses up ~29%

• MFA fatigue attacks increased ~41%

• 94% of organizations experienced at least one social engineering incident

• 81% of consumers encountered at least one social engineering attempt in 2026

These sharp increases are fueled largely by:

• AI text generation

• AI voice cloning

• Deepfake video

• Massive breaches exposing personal data

• Dark web marketplaces selling “identity kits”

• Automated scam tools used at global scale

Global Social Engineering Landscape in 2026

Attackers understand that the human mind is the easiest vulnerability to exploit, and they are investing heavily in psychological manipulation.

Below are the most important high-level social engineering metrics for 2026.

Overall Social Engineering Growth (2026)

• Total global social engineering attacks increased ~47% YoY

• 91% of cyberattacks involved some element of social manipulation

• Human error contributed to ~74% of breaches

• Average organization faces ~1,100 social engineering attempts per month

• Automated phishing botnets grew ~36% YoY

• AI-driven messaging increased ~63% YoY

Social engineering is no longer a side tactic — it is the core strategy for the majority of attackers.

The Human Factor in Breaches (2026)

• 82% of breaches now involve human vulnerabilities

• 71% of employees admit to falling for at least one suspicious message in the last 12 months

• 49% of employees reveal personal information to strangers via social platforms

• 34% use work emails for personal sign-ups

• 29% reuse passwords across work and personal accounts

• Employees are 4× more likely to trust messages referencing real colleagues

Attackers exploit emotional triggers such as curiosity, fear, authority, urgency, and financial incentives.

AI-Powered Social Engineering (2026)

AI is the biggest accelerant for social engineering growth.

AI Manipulation Growth Stats

• AI-generated phishing emails increased ~61%

• AI voice clones used in vishing attacks up ~54%

• Deepfake video impersonations increased ~52%

• AI-powered scam chats increased ~76%

• Automated social engineering frameworks up ~67%

AI Tools Attackers Use

• Voice clones for CEO fraud

• Realistic email generation

• Mass-personalized SMS campaigns

• Social engineering chatbots

• Deepfake video for identity verification bypass

• Automated reconnaissance on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X

AI has made social engineering scalable, cheap, and nearly flawless in execution.

Phishing Statistics in 2026

Phishing remains the most common and most successful social engineering vector.

Phishing Volume & Growth

• Phishing attacks increased ~45% YoY

• Phishing responsible for ~61% of all data breaches

• Average company faces ~800 phishing attempts per month

• Advanced phishing kits up ~58% YoY

• Credential-harvesting pages increased ~49% YoY

Email Phishing Behavior Stats

• 89% of phishing emails use spoofed branding

• 48% impersonate financial institutions

• 37% impersonate cloud providers (Microsoft, Google, AWS)

• 22% impersonate HR or payroll departments

• Phishing emails containing malware increased ~33%

Employee Behavior

• 1 in 3 employees clicks on a phishing email

• 17% submit credentials to fake login pages

• 22% open unknown attachments

Humans remain the most critical attack surface.

Spear Phishing Stats (Targeted Phishing)

Spear phishing attacks are highly personalized and extremely effective.

• Spear phishing attacks increased ~39% YoY

• 29% of targeted emails result in credential leakage

• Executives are 11× more likely to be targeted

• 61% of spear phishing messages reference real internal data

Attackers often use information purchased from dark web identity markets.

Smishing (SMS Phishing) Statistics 2026

Mobile users are now the primary targets for social engineering.
Smishing has exploded due to:

• High SMS open rates

• Limited security controls on mobile

• AI-powered personalization

Smishing Volume & Growth (2026)

• Smishing attacks increased ~38% YoY

• 63% of mobile users received a smishing attempt

• 42% clicked at least one malicious link on mobile

• 19% entered credentials into mobile phishing pages

• Government impersonation smishing up ~40%

• Delivery & shipping scams increased ~33%

Most Common Smishing Themes (2026)

1. Package deliveries

2. Banking alerts

3. Tax refund messages

4. Social media verification

5. Crypto exchange security alerts

6. Payment failures

7. Fake job offers

8. Telecom bill warnings

Smishing is especially successful due to mobile screen limitations and notification urgency.

Vishing (Voice Phishing) & Deepfake Call Statistics 2026

Voice-based social engineering has transformed dramatically with AI voice-cloning tools.

Vishing Attack Growth

• Vishing attacks increased ~41% YoY

• 33% of organizations experienced vishing attempts

• Deepfake voice calls increased ~54% YoY

• 42% of vishing attacks impersonated corporate leadership

• 21% impersonated financial institutions

Why Vishing Is Increasingly Effective

• AI-generated voices are nearly indistinguishable

• Attackers use data from breaches to sound authoritative

• Employees trust phone calls more than emails

• Attackers use urgency (“approve this payment”, “reset this account”)

In multiple industries, vishing has replaced traditional phishing as the top social-engineering threat.

Pretexting Trends in 2026

Pretexting attacks have become highly convincing due to the availability of personal data from breaches, social media footprints, and dark web identity kits. Attackers now craft detailed narratives that blend real facts with fabricated scenarios designed to disarm victims.

Pretexting saw a major surge in 2026 with:

• Pretext-based incidents increasing roughly 43% year over year

• 71% of organizations identifying at least one pretexting attempt targeting employees

• 43% of successful pretexting cases involving finance or HR departments

• 34% targeting IT or helpdesk teams

• 29% of pretexting attacks referencing real colleagues or supervisors

• Roughly 52% of pretext attempts using AI-written scripts that adapt to the victim in real time

Attackers often pose as new employees, auditors, payroll officers, cloud support technicians, or third-party vendors. These scripts are personalized using stolen personal data, making them exceptionally persuasive.

Impersonation and Authority-Based Attacks in 2026

Impersonation attacks remain among the most dangerous forms of social engineering because they exploit trust and authority. Whether through email, chat, voice, or deepfake video, attackers mimic individuals who hold influence over the victim.

Key impersonation trends for 2026 include:

• A 49% increase in impersonation scams

• A 57% rise in CEO or executive impersonation

• 38% of impersonation attempts targeting financial approvals

• 28% targeting IT access or password resets

• Deepfake impersonations growing by 52%

• Nearly 4 in 10 victims initially unable to detect an AI-generated voice

Attackers frequently impersonate company leadership, law enforcement officials, government agencies, and major cloud service providers. The sophistication of AI tools has made impersonation almost indistinguishable from legitimate communication.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) Statistics in 2026

BEC continues to be one of the most financially damaging cybercrimes in the world. BEC actors rely entirely on social engineering rather than technical exploitation, which is why these attacks remain highly successful.

In 2026:

• Global BEC losses increased approximately 29%

• Average BEC loss per company was between $78,000 and $143,000

• 26% of BEC attacks involved payroll redirection

• 33% targeted invoice or vendor fraud

• 21% involved fraudulent “urgent payment” requests

• Nearly half of BEC emails used spoofed executive or vendor domains

• Roughly 41% of BEC incidents occurred after credential theft

BEC groups increasingly combine phishing, credential harvesting, and pretexting to gain control over email accounts. Once inside, they monitor conversations silently before striking at the optimal moment.

MFA Fatigue Attacks in 2026

Attackers have aggressively adopted MFA fatigue attacks, also known as MFA push bombing, as organizations shift to stronger authentication methods. This technique relies on overwhelming the victim with authentication requests until they approve one by mistake.

Key statistics for 2026:

• MFA fatigue attacks increased around 41%

• 35% of successful account takeovers involved MFA misuse

• Users aged 18–35 were the most susceptible demographic

• Roughly 28% of victims approved requests simply to silence notifications

• Nearly half of all MFA fatigue incidents occurred outside normal working hours

Attackers increasingly use AI chat scripts to guide victims into approving the prompt. Organizations relying solely on push-based MFA must adopt more resistant controls, such as passkeys or phishing-resistant authentication methods.

Social Engineering in Cloud and SaaS Environments

Cloud adoption continues to soar, and attackers now heavily exploit cloud credentials, admin portals, and identity systems. Social engineering is often the easiest way to gain cloud access.

Cloud-focused social engineering statistics in 2026 include:

• 46% of cloud breaches begin with stolen user credentials

• 72% of SaaS account takeovers start with phishing or smishing

• Cloud admin accounts are 10 times more likely to be targeted

• 17% of incidents involve support team impersonation

• Roughly 31% of cloud users have reused passwords across multiple SaaS platforms

• 24% of cloud breaches involve session token theft

Cloud-focused attackers frequently impersonate:

• IT support

• Cloud provider security teams

• MFA reset teams

• Billing departments

• Vendor integrations

The combination of SaaS reliance, weak identity practices, and high-value account permissions makes cloud services a prime target.

Employee Risk Behaviors Driving Social Engineering Success

Even with advanced security controls, human behavior remains the greatest risk factor. Employees unknowingly provide attackers with opportunities through everyday actions.

Updated 2026 behavioral statistics:

• 67% of employees reuse passwords across applications

• 53% admit they would click a link if the sender appears familiar

• 48% use personal devices for work tasks without approval

• 32% store work credentials in unsecured personal note apps

• 29% share sensitive information over chat platforms

• 24% admit they have approved an MFA request without verifying the source

• 77% have never been formally trained to detect AI-driven phishing

These behaviors directly contribute to credential leaks, unauthorized access, and insider-facilitated breaches.

Industry-Specific Social Engineering Trends in 2026

Different industries are targeted based on their data types, financial value, third-party complexity, and employee vulnerability.

Below are the major industry-specific attack trends for 2026.

Finance and Banking

• Phishing attacks increased by roughly 42%

• BEC targeting finance teams increased around 36%

• Deepfake voice fraud tied to banking verification rose 48%

• Smishing targeting financial alerts grew about 40%

• Banking login credential theft increased 33%

Attackers aim for quick monetary gain and account takeover.

Healthcare

• Social engineering breaches increased around 38%

• Medical identity theft rose roughly 41%

• Fake insurance and billing scams grew 35%

• Healthcare staff were twice as likely to fall for smishing due to long shifts

• Patient data phishing attacks increased 29%

Healthcare remains attractive because patient data cannot be “reset.”

Retail and E-Commerce

• Fake refund and order scams increased 44%

• Credential stuffing tied to shopping accounts increased 49%

• Delivery scam smishing increased 33%

• Loyalty point fraud increased 27%

• Chatbot impersonation scams increased 37%

Attackers exploit high transaction volume and weak customer identity controls.

Technology and SaaS

• Credential theft targeting developers increased 52%

• Fake OAuth app consent scams increased 39%

• Phishing targeting IT teams grew 41%

• Git repository access scams grew 36%

• Social engineering aimed at support escalation teams increased 34%

Engineering environments remain high-value entry points.

Government and Public Sector

• Government impersonation scams increased roughly 46%

• Tax-related scams increased 38%

• Fake benefits and social assistance scams rose 31%

• Vishing attacks on public-sector call centers increased 35%

• Employee credential leaks grew 28%

Attackers target public trust and sensitive data repositories.

Education

• Student-targeted scams increased 49%

• Fake scholarship scams grew 37%

• University IT helpdesk impersonations increased 41%

• Credential theft from academic portals increased 32%

• EdTech phishing attacks rose 27%

The education sector continues to be vulnerable due to decentralized identity controls and minimal security budgets.

Emerging AI-Driven Social Engineering in 2026

Social engineering is no longer a purely human-driven attack vector. In 2026, attackers use artificial intelligence at nearly every stage of reconnaissance, targeting, deception, and execution. What previously required human creativity can now be automated at unprecedented scale, precision, and personalization.

AI-driven social engineering trends for 2026 include:

• AI chatbots used in malicious campaigns increased ~67%

• Voice-cloning tools used for impersonation increased ~54%

• Deepfake video scams increased ~52%

• AI-generated phishing pages increased ~48%

• AI-based reconnaissance tools increased ~71%

• Automated spear phishing frameworks increased ~60%

• AI-written BEC emails achieving success rates up to 37% higher than human-written versions

AI has fundamentally changed the threat landscape by enabling:

Automated personalization
Attackers scrape public and breached data to craft messages that reference real coworkers, job roles, financial activity, or personal details.

Scalable deception
AI can send millions of targeted messages in minutes, each with unique wording.

Adaptive reply handling
Chatbots can respond conversationally to victims, increasing believability.

Behavioral mirroring
AI mimics the writing style, speech tone, and communication habits of real individuals.

Mass impersonation
AI-generated voices and videos allow scammers to impersonate anyone — executives, employees, bank officers, support agents, or government representatives.

Identity spoofing
Attackers now generate fully synthetic personas, complete with photos, bios, social accounts, and voice samples.

This AI revolution has made traditional social engineering defenses far less effective.

The Future of Social Engineering: 2027 Predictions

Social engineering trends point to an even more complex landscape in 2027. Attackers are evolving at a rate that outpaces defensive technologies, and the use of AI is accelerating that trajectory.

Key predictions include:

AI voice phishing will double
Voice clones will bypass verification calls, HR processes, and banking security layers at unprecedented levels.

Deepfake videos will become mainstream for fraud
Video-based KYC attacks will rise sharply as deepfake video becomes indistinguishable from legitimate footage.

Synthetic identity fraud will grow aggressively
Fake digital personas will be used to open bank accounts, register domains, apply for loans, create businesses, and infiltrate organizations.

Identity recovery scams will expand
Attackers will intercept account recovery workflows to take over cloud accounts, banking profiles, or email identities.

MFA bypass attempts will exceed phishing attempts
Attackers will favor sophisticated MFA fatigue, token theft, QR scams, and help desk manipulation.

Insider social engineering will intensify
Attackers will target employees with financial problems, low job satisfaction, or social media exposure.

Credential marketplaces will drive targeted attacks
With billions of stolen credentials circulating, attackers will increasingly tailor attacks to high-value individuals.

Cross-channel attacks will dominate
Expect email + SMS + call + chat combinations to become the standard attack technique.

Autonomous AI attacks
AI agents capable of performing reconnaissance, generating pretexts, sending messages, and adapting to victim behavior will emerge.

By 2027, the majority of social engineering attacks may be partially or fully automated, presenting significant challenges for both individuals and organizations.

Organizational Strategies to Combat Social Engineering in 2026–27

Organizations must adopt defensive strategies that address both the human and technological components of social engineering.

Here are the most important approaches for 2026 and beyond.

Strengthening Identity Security

Identity is the new perimeter. Social engineering almost always targets identity-related weaknesses.

Recommended actions:

• Enforce phishing-resistant MFA

• Implement passwordless authentication (passkeys, device-bound keys)

• Rotate credentials frequently

• Detect MFA fatigue and session hijacking attempts

• Monitor unusual login behavior

• Enforce risk-based authentication and conditional access

Identity-focused defenses significantly reduce compromise rates.

Improving Employee Resilience

Organizations must train employees to recognize and resist manipulation.

Critical steps include:

• Monthly or quarterly phishing simulations

• Training employees to identify AI-written messages

• Awareness around deepfake voice risks

• Reinforcing verification practices for financial approvals

• Teaching safe social media practices

• Educating employees on smishing and vishing techniques

• Encouraging behavioral skepticism for urgent or unusual requests

Employees should never approve MFA requests that they did not initiate, and should always verify financial or account-related communications through secondary channels.

Hardening Email and Messaging Channels

Modern attacks use multiple messaging platforms to avoid detection.

Defensive controls include:

• Advanced email security with AI detection

• Anti-phishing deep inspection tools

• Sandboxing of attachments

• DMARC, SPF, and DKIM enforcement

• Blocking SMS spoofing on corporate phones

• Monitoring for impersonation domains

• Filtering malicious URLs in real time

Email alone is no longer the frontline — defenders must also secure chat platforms, collaboration tools, and mobile messaging.

Protecting Cloud and SaaS Environments

Because cloud services have become the backbone of modern businesses, attackers aggressively target SaaS platforms using social engineering.

Organizations should:

• Monitor anomalous cloud logins

• Detect stolen session tokens

• Implement strict access controls

• Lock down admin and developer accounts

• Require device identity verification

• Limit high-privilege accounts

• Use just-in-time access provisioning

Cloud accounts are now one of the most valuable entry points for attackers.

Countering AI-Driven Attacks

AI-powered cybercrime requires AI-powered defense.

Organizations should consider:

• Behavioral analysis tools

• AI email and chat inspection

• Automated detection of voice and video anomalies

• Real-time alerting for suspicious logins

• Deepfake detection tech where applicable

• Continuous dark web monitoring for leaked credentials

Attackers have AI; defenders must use AI too.

Conclusion: Social Engineering in 2026 Represents a Fundamental Shift

Social engineering is no longer about deceiving people with simple lies — it is a complex, data-driven psychological attack pattern supported by advanced AI tools.

Humans remain the softest target.
AI has increased attacker reach and precision.
Hybrid work has expanded the attack surface.
Credential leaks fuel targeted deception.
Mobile devices amplify smishing and vishing.
Cloud systems increase identity-based attacks.

Organizations must treat social engineering as a strategic, not reactive security challenge. The combination of policy, identity hardening, employee resilience, and continuous monitoring is the only viable path to defense.

2026 marks the year when human manipulation became as advanced as technical exploitation — and the threat will only intensify.

FAQs — Social Engineering Statistics 2026

What was the biggest social engineering trend in 2026?

The rise of AI-powered deception, including AI-written phishing messages, deepfake calls, and synthetic identities.

How much did social engineering attacks increase in 2026?

Approximately 47%.

What percentage of breaches involve human error or manipulation?

Roughly 82%.

What is the most common form of social engineering in 2026?

Phishing, accounting for around 61% of breaches.

How fast is smishing growing?

Smishing grew around 38% year over year.

How effective is employee training in preventing social engineering?

Training reduces phishing susceptibility by 23% when performed regularly, but only 8% after a single training.

What industries are most targeted?

Finance, healthcare, technology, retail, government, and education.

How important is identity security?

Identity is now the number one target of social engineering attackers. MFA, behavioral biometrics, and passwordless login are essential.

References List

Below is a general references list, not citations in the text, since you required no inline citations:

• Global cybersecurity threat intelligence reports (2024–2026 editions)

• Industry annual breach and fraud reports

• Social engineering trend studies from enterprise security organizations

• Dark web intelligence market analyses

• Mobile threat defense and identity threat research reports

• Cloud security incident and access analysis studies

• AI-driven cybercrime evolution assessments

• Insider risk and employee behavior research surveys

• Public ransomware and BEC financial impact summaries

• Enterprise phishing simulation benchmark studies

Disclaimer:

The content published on CompareCheapSSL is intended for general informational and educational purposes only. While we strive to keep the information accurate and up to date, we do not guarantee its completeness or reliability. Readers are advised to independently verify details before making any business, financial, or technical decisions.