A criminal threat actor called “Silver Fox” is launching tax-themed phishing attacks against Japanese companies during the country’s tax season, according to researchers at ESET.
“The ongoing campaign uses convincing phishing lures related to tax compliance violations, salary adjustments, job position changes, and employee stock ownership plans,” ESET says. “All emails share the same goal – trick the recipients into opening malicious links or attachments. As employees actually expect to receive emails about these subjects this time of year, they’re more likely to trust and act on such messages without a second thought. Needless to say, this significantly increases the risk of compromise.”
Notably, the threat actor researches its targets before launching the attacks in order to tailor the phishing messages to each potential victim.
“The sender fields impersonate real employees and even CEOs at the targeted companies,” ESET writes. “Silver Fox is clearly doing some reconnaissance on each target before sending what aren’t generic blasts. The attackers are picking names that the targets are likely to recognize and trust, which makes it more difficult for the recipients to distinguish the malicious messages from real internal notifications. The emails typically contain either a malicious attachment or a link leading to a malicious file. The files are named to resemble common HR, financial, or tax-related documents.”
ESET concludes, “The operation is also a reminder for organizations to increase vigilance, reinforce awareness around phishing attempts, and ensure that employees verify the authenticity of tax‑ and HR‑themed requests – including those that look routine. Immediate reporting of suspicious emails to security teams is essential to reduce exposure and prevent successful compromise.”
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ESET has the story: A cunning predator: How Silver Fox preys on Japanese firms this tax season
