Microsoft Continues to be Most Imitated Brand for Phishing Attempts in Q4 2020

▤ Summary

The report highlights the brands, which were most frequently imitated by criminals in their attempts to steal individuals’ personal information or payment credentials during October, November and December. Forty-three percent of all brand phishing attempts related to the technology giant (up from 19% in Q3), as threat actors continued to try to capitalize on people working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic’s second wave. DHL maintained its position as the second most impersonated brand, with 18% of all phishing attempts related to it as criminals tried to take advantage of the online shopping season in November and December. “As always, we encourage users to be cautious when divulging personal data and credentials to business applications, and to think twice before opening email attachments or links, especially emails that claim to from companies, such as Microsoft or Google, that are most likely to be impersonated.” In a brand phishing attack, criminals try to imitate the official website of a well-known brand by using a similar domain name or URL and web-page design to the genuine site. The link to the fake website can be sent to targeted individuals by email or text message, a user can be redirected during web browsing, or it may be triggered from a fraudulent mobile application.

▦ Linked Companies

Microsoft

$1B+