Fake NDAs, Real Money: Inside the M&A Social Engineering Playbook

ShadowTalk: Powered by ReliaQuest · Sep 23, 2026 · 28m

In this episode, we examine the Phantom Deal campaign, in which threat actors used publicly available details about companies’ acquisition histories, subsidiaries, executives, and employees to create convincing fake M&A scenarios. The goal: persuade employees to initiate large financial transfers while keeping conversations off corporate communication channels.

We also cover a recent series of zero-day disclosures affecting major endpoint-security and Windows products. These vulnerabilities reinforce a critical operational reality: organizations must be prepared to detect and respond even…