In Pictures: 9 classic hacking, phishing and social engineering lies

Whether it is on the phone, online or in person, here are ten lies hackers, phishers and social engineers will tell you to get what they want

This is Bob from IT. Your computer is infected. In 9 dirty tricks: Social engineer's favorite pick up lines, Chris Nickerson, founder of Lares, a Colorado-based security consultancy, explains why this old social-engineering trick is often still successful. He should know, he uses it frequently as a pen tester.

Scammers often take advantage of a timely event, like a high-profile piece of malware that is infecting many computers. The average, non-computer savvy employee gets nervous with the technicality of what the "IT person" on the phone is telling them.

"Eventually, I say 'Look, why don't I fix this for you? Give me your password and I will deal with it and call you back when I am done,'" said Nickerson.

The strategy plays on a person's fear and lack of comfort with tech, said Nickerson.

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