  The number of registered SIM cards and active mobile phone subscribers in
Zambia in 2020 surpassed the population of the country. This clearly shows that
mobile phones in Zambia have become part of everyday life easing not only the
way people communicate but also the way people perform financial transactions
owing to the integration of mobile phone systems with financial payment
systems. This development has not come without a cost. Cyberattackers, using
various social engineering techniques have jumped onto the bandwagon to defraud
unsuspecting users. Considering the aforesaid, this paper presents a high-order
analytical approach towards mobile phone-based social engineering cyberattacks
(phishing, SMishing, and Vishing) in Zambia which seek to defraud benign
victims. This paper presents a baseline study to reiterate the problem at hand.
Furthermore, we devise an attack model and an evaluation framework and
ascertain the most prevalent types of attack. We also present a logistic
regression analysis in the results section to conclude the most prevalent
mobile phone-based type of social engineering attack. Based on the artifacts
and observed insights, we suggest recommendations to mitigate these emergent
social engineering cyberattacks.
