In the second quarter of 2024, the number of phishing attacks further decreased to 877,536.
In thethird quarter of 2024, phishing attacks reached 932,923, a 6% increasecompared to the previous quarter.
Data for the last quarter of the year hasnt been released yet.
Vishing, or voice phishing, involves scammers using phone calls to deceive victims into revealing sensitive information.
The scammers often masquerade as representatives from trusted organizations to gain their victims confidence.
Vishing incidents increased by more than 28% from the second to third quarter of 2024.
These messages aim to deceive recipients into divulging sensitive information.
Smishing incidents increased by more than 22% in the third quarter of 2024.
This growth reflects the shift toward mobile-based phishing due to the increasing difficulty of reaching victims via email.
They are tracked by counting email lures with different subject lines.
This points to cybercriminals potentially changing their tactics to get ahead of the typical February romance scams.
By comparison, in March 2023 there were 576 targeted brands, the highest of that year.
This equates tothe number of affected brands having decreased by over 40% in just one year.
Research suggests that scammers are also increasingly using deepfake technology to manipulate and deceive their targets.
This suggests that cybercriminals prefer to deceive their targets by using fake identities or profiles on these platforms.
The remaining 30% used a combination of maliciously registered domains and compromised email accounts.
Other popular registrars used by scammers include Hostinger, GoDaddy, NameSilo, Enom, and PDR.
These platforms allow scammers to create realistic-looking phishing sites, further deceiving their victims into providing sensitive information.
How Long Does It Take Users to Fall for a Phishing Scam?
Could a New Email Provider (Like Xmail) Worsen Phishing?
Another question that arises is: Would users trust an Elon Musk-backed email service more than Gmail?
Additionally, enabling two-factor authentication and maintaining strong, unique passwords can significantly enhance your security.
Conclusion
Phishing scams have become more sophisticated and targeted as technology advances.
