Check Point Research’s latest report has highlighted the names of brands that are commonly mimicked by threat actors in order to lure in victims while carrying out their phishing activities.
With the first quarter of the ongoing year coming to an end, the report took a dig at companies that were used this year by the hackers. What seems to be interesting is that some of the names totally took everyone by surprise. The tech giant Apple, previously known for being the most used name, was not even in the top 10.
Instead, the spot is now taken by Walmart, a retail corporation. According to the report, the name was used in almost sixteen percent of the reported attacks that took place in 2023.
At the end of 2022, Walmart was in the thirteenth position on the list of brands whose names were used. The reason behind this big jump from 13th to 1st position was the campaign, which notified the targeted audience of a potential crash in the supply system. The notification was followed by a survey link that hosted the threat software.
Walmart was closely followed by DHL as the second-most-used name in phishing campaigns. The name appeared in almost thirteen percent of all the attacks. The third spot was taken by Windows parent company, Microsoft, which accounted for twelve percent of the attacks. Based on the report, it can be seen that tech companies are the ones that are impersonated the most. Other brands included LinkedIn, FedEx, and PayPal.
Raiffeisen Bank International, an Austrian-based banking company, was also on the top ten list. The bank got itself featured in emails encouraging users to secure their bank accounts, but those who opened the link were in reality making their accounts available for the hackers to take over.
While some attacks are directed at stealing private data, others are aimed at taking over financial details. As a result, it is important to spread awareness among workers to stay vigilant while reading emails. As most of the phishing emails can be detected by a thorough reading.
Read next: Cyber Scammers Target Unsuspecting Users Via Facebook Ads in a Latest Fraud Scheme
With the first quarter of the ongoing year coming to an end, the report took a dig at companies that were used this year by the hackers. What seems to be interesting is that some of the names totally took everyone by surprise. The tech giant Apple, previously known for being the most used name, was not even in the top 10.
Instead, the spot is now taken by Walmart, a retail corporation. According to the report, the name was used in almost sixteen percent of the reported attacks that took place in 2023.
At the end of 2022, Walmart was in the thirteenth position on the list of brands whose names were used. The reason behind this big jump from 13th to 1st position was the campaign, which notified the targeted audience of a potential crash in the supply system. The notification was followed by a survey link that hosted the threat software.
Walmart was closely followed by DHL as the second-most-used name in phishing campaigns. The name appeared in almost thirteen percent of all the attacks. The third spot was taken by Windows parent company, Microsoft, which accounted for twelve percent of the attacks. Based on the report, it can be seen that tech companies are the ones that are impersonated the most. Other brands included LinkedIn, FedEx, and PayPal.
Raiffeisen Bank International, an Austrian-based banking company, was also on the top ten list. The bank got itself featured in emails encouraging users to secure their bank accounts, but those who opened the link were in reality making their accounts available for the hackers to take over.
While some attacks are directed at stealing private data, others are aimed at taking over financial details. As a result, it is important to spread awareness among workers to stay vigilant while reading emails. As most of the phishing emails can be detected by a thorough reading.
Read next: Cyber Scammers Target Unsuspecting Users Via Facebook Ads in a Latest Fraud Scheme
