Banking revealed as the third most phished industry in Q4 2020, report suggests

The Brand Phishing Report is powered by Check Point’s collaborative cyber crime network ThreatCloud, that provides threat intelligence and attack trends from a global network of threat sensors. The ThreatCloud database identifies over 250 million malware activity daily by inspecting over 3 billion websites and 600 million files. As in Q4 of 2020, IT company Microsoft remained the most-targeted brand by internet criminals trying to steal personal information or payment details. The Germany-based delivery service DHL maintains its second place with 18% of all phishing attempts, as cyber criminals take advantage of the growing online shopping reliance. Following the IT technology industry, shipping service providers are the second largest target industry for brand phishing. However, banking has overtaken retail as the 3rd most phished industry this quarter.

According to a representative from Check Point Software, criminals increased their attempts to steal personal information by posing as leading brands in Q1 2021. The software company cautions all users to be careful about disclosing personal information and to think twice before opening any email attachments or links. In a brand phishing attack, criminals attempt to impersonate a well-known brand's official website by using a similar domain name or URL and website design. The link to the fake website can be sent to the targets via email and text message or redirected while browsing the internet or from a fraudulent mobile application. The fake website often contains a form used to steal users' login details, payment details, or other personally identifiable information. The top 5 most-phished brands in Q1 2021 are Microsoft (39%), DHL (9%), Google (9%), Roblox (6%), and Amazon (5%).