Exploiting Urgency: Analysing Phishing Tactics And User Susceptibility In Social Media Stories During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Phishing is an online scam where criminals trick users with various strategies,with the goal of obtaining confidential information or other personal resources.The covid 19 pandemic had a dramatic worldwide impact on all sides of our life. The covid 19 pandemic has increased a surge in phishing attacks especially on social media platforms where the ephemeral nature of stories has been exploited to manipulate user behaviour. Many malicious actors utilized time sensitive messaging to manipulate human emotions and prompt hasty actions from users. This study investigates how phishers leverage urgency in social media stories to extract immediate responses from the users, thereby analysing the specific tactics used by them that enhance user susceptibility. This study aims to fill critical gaps in the understanding of phishing dynamics during the pandemic. The findings inform the development of targeted user education programs, digital literacy, security awareness and platform policies designed to mitigate phishing risks, in turn enhancing online safety in an increasingly urgent digital landscape.