HPO Message Of The Month (May 2008)


Who are social engineers?

Social engineers are individuals who use lies and deception to gain access to protected health information (PHI) they are not authorized to have.  Social engineers depend on your goodwill and try to earn your trust.  They rely on your desire to be helpful and hope that you will not challenge their identity or authority. 

What do they do?

Social engineers may send an email that tricks you into sharing your password and other personal information so they can commit identity theft or try to persuade you into sharing confidential information over the phone or in person.


Click here to view the May HIPAA Privacy & Security Message of the Month and find out things you can do to prevent being victimized by Social Engineers.


Contact the HIPAA Program Office (HPO) at 4-9716 or HPO@bsd.uchicago.edu for more informatio