Phishing is becoming more common, and anyone who uses email, text messages, or other ways to talk to other people could be a victim.
These cyberattacks, when a cybercriminal sends a misleading message intended to trap a user into providing sensitive information like credit card details or to installing malware on the user's device, may be very successful if done effectively.
These types of cyberattacks have become more complex, making them more harmful and common. Over a six-month period, messaging security company SlashNext examined billions of link-based URLs, attachments, and natural language messages in email, mobile, and browser channels and discovered more than 255 million threats. This shows a 61% increase in phishing attacks since 2021.
According to the research, fraudsters are moving their attacks to mobile and personal communication channels in order to target users. It revealed a 50% increase in mobile device threats, with frauds and credential theft topping the list of payloads.
"We've seen an uptick in the use of voicemail and SMS as part of two-pronged phishing and BEC [business email compromise] attacks," according to Jess Burn, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "The attackers leave a phone or text message regarding the email they sent, either providing legitimacy to the sender or enhancing the urgency of the request."
According to Burn, the firm is receiving a lot of enquiries from clients concerning BEC attacks in general. "With geopolitical instability disrupting ransomware gang activities and cryptocurrency — the favoured form of ransom payment — crumbling recently, bad actors are resorting to old-fashioned fraud to get money," he explained. "As a result, BEC is on the rise."