Types of Phishing

Phishing is a type of cyber attack that aims to steal sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal data by posing as a trustworthy entity. There are several types of phishing attacks, each with its own unique approach to tricking victims. Here are some of the most common types of phishing:

1. Email Phishing: This is the most widely used form of phishing, where the attacker sends an email that appears to be from a trusted source, such as a bank or a well-known company, to trick the recipient into clicking on a malicious link or providing sensitive information.
2. Spear Phishing: Unlike regular phishing, spear phishing is a targeted attack aimed at a specific individual or organization. The attacker may use personal information, such as the victim’s name, job title, or company, to make the email appear more credible.
3. Smishing: This type of phishing uses text messages, rather than emails, to trick victims. The attacker may send a text message posing as a bank or other trusted entity, asking the recipient to provide sensitive information or click on a link.
4. Vishing: This is a phishing attack conducted over the phone. The attacker may pose as a representative from a bank or other trustworthy organization, asking the victim to provide sensitive information or confirm account details.
5. Clone Phishing: In this type of phishing attack, the attacker makes a copy of an existing, legitimate email and then replaces the attachments or links in the email with malicious ones.

It is important to be aware of these different types of phishing attacks and to take steps to protect yourself from them. This includes being wary of unsolicited emails or messages, not clicking on links from unknown sources, and regularly changing passwords and updating security software.

When a phishing email gets past your edge defenses, it is critical to remove the message from all the user mailboxes as quickly as possible to eliminate the organizational vulnerability. Our tool PhisherCat was developed for a large state police agency that gets a lot of phishing attempts. There is simply no faster way to remove malicious messages from a user’s mailbox.