5 Types Of Phishing Attacks Businesses Need To Watch Out For

Companies in industries ranging from finance to marketing face phishing attacks. These attacks lead to an array of business problems. Brands lose customer data to hackers during phishing attacks. When situations like this occur, the businesses involved damage their reputations. Some hackers ruin companies’ data once they retrieve it as well. These businesses are left without the information they need to conduct operational tasks. In order to prevent falling victim to phishing scams, business owners need to first learn about the most common kinds. Keep reading for information on popular types of phishing attacks businesses need to watch out for.

Social Media Phishing

To begin, social media phishing attacks are increasing as more businesses occupy various platforms. Marketing teams in particular use popular social media channels like Facebook and Instagram to promote products. They answer consumer questions to build better customer relationships. Teams also engage with other users to build their followings by promoting content, industry news and latest announcements. While social media provides brands another channel to promote themselves, hackers know these tactics and use them to their advantage. They impersonate consumers on social platforms for their own gain. When businesses receive chats from these impostors, they do not think twice about reading their content. Many teams even click on dangerous links. Inform your employees of this common type of phishing attack.

Email Phishing

Another common type of phishing scam to watch out for is email phishing. These attacks come in several forms. One of the most popular methods that hackers use is known as the “billing problem” email. These emails target employees at profitable companies who may have made key purchases in the past. The email content states that the items you recently purchased for your company cannot be shipped. Typically, hackers explain that the billing information was incorrect and needs to be inputted once more. They supply you with a link to add your company credit card information again. Businesses that fall for this trap give up their financial information and lose large sums because of it. Keep this phishing attack method in mind to avoid such an outcome.

Vishing Attacks

Moreover, many companies face vishing attacks, or verbal phishing attacks. These scams are similar to email phishing attacks. The main difference is that vishing attacks occur over the phone. Instead of receiving an email stating that your billing information was incorrect for an order, you receive a phone call that attempts to collect valuable information. The hacker on the other line verbally asks for your financial information, passwords or authorization codes. Advise your employees to avoid giving personal and company financial information over the phone. That way, you can prevent this type of phishing attack entirely.

Whaling Scams

Businesses also fall victim to whaling scams. This type of phishing attack usually targets senior executives. Because these employees typically acquire the most information within a business, whaling attacks are particularly threatening. In order to trick senior-level professionals, hackers use subtle tactics. Their goal is to successfully impersonate senior executives to gain information from other employees. They use relevant yet highly informative topics like tax forms. Hackers who conduct whaling scams use these topics to gain both personal financial information and business-related information from employees. Train your workers to identify this type of phishing scam. With proper training, you can keep your business and staff safe.

Clone Phishing

Furthermore, hackers use clone phishing attacks to retrieve critical information from businesses. Clone phishing scams involve recreating real messages from legitimate companies. Hackers take the replicates and add attachments or links to the bodies of the messages. These attachments and links contain malicious content. When a business owner or employee downloads the attachments or clicks on the links, they open gateways. Hackers can use these gateways to access information. Another common clone phishing method entails replicating a legitimate website. Hackers use this tactic to trick businesses and consumers alike. Watch out for this type of phishing attack to protect your company data.

Regardless of the industry you operate your business in, you are prone to phishing attacks. One of the most common types involves scamming on social media platforms. Hackers launch email phishing attacks on companies in multiple formats. They use similar approaches when targeting businesses via vishing scams. Senior executives need to be aware of whaling attacks because of how unidentifiable they can be. Finally, many companies fall victim to clone phishing when hackers effectively recreate messages and websites. Watch out for these popular types of phishing attacks.