As scammers shift their campaigns and learn from their successes, new data shows that the global delivery service is the current brand of choice, with equally familiar brands trailing slightly.
We’ve seen as many as 256 brands impersonated recently in phishing attacks. But new data from CheckPoint puts the use of global brands into perspective by providing the current rankings. According to their Q3 Brand Phishing Report, the following brands topped the list:
- DHL – used in 22% of phishing attacks globally
- Microsoft – 16%
- LinkedIn – 11%
- Google – 6%
- Netflix – 5%
What’s interesting is that 4 of the five can be definitely used to target businesses (with Netflix being an obvious consumer/individual attack focus). The impersonation of these brands is what lends credibility to the phishing scam. For example, we saw Google Translate being impersonated to get victims to think the spoofed logon page used to harvest credentials was legitimate.
What this list above should really tell you is both what kinds of credentials threat actors are seeking out, as well as where to place your employees' vigilance when it comes to interacting with unsolicited emails – something taught via continual Security Awareness Training.
These brands are going to shift in use over time, but the overarching message is clear – impersonation in phishing attacks works and is here to stay.
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