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When it comes to phishing attacks, cyber criminals often try to imitate the official website of a well-known brand; They do this by using a domain name or URL and web page design similar to the original site.
The link to the fake website can be sent to specific people by email or text message, a user can be redirected while browsing the web or can be activated from a fraudulent mobile application.
The fake website often contains a form intended to steal users’ credentials, payment details, or other personal information.
A recent report released by Check Point highlights the brands that criminals most frequently imitated in their attempts to steal personal information or payment credentials during the first quarter of this year.
The top 10 brands are ranked by their overall appearance in phishing attempts:
10. Amazon
9. eBay
8. Microsoft
7. Facebook
6. Chase
5. PayPal
4. WhatsApp
3. Yahoo
2. Netflix
- Apple
Apple was the brand most frequently targeted by cybercriminals, climbing from seventh place in 2019 to the top of the ranking. 10% of all brand phishing attempts were related to the tech giant, as bad actors tried to capitalize on their powerful brand recognition.
Netflix took second place with 9% of all company-related phishing attempts, perhaps in part due to the increase in people accessing the service during the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Chase Bank brand rose 3% from the fourth quarter of 2019 to take sixth place, with 5% of all phishing attempts attempting to exploit this brand.
According to the report, the industry most likely to be the target of brand phishing was technology, followed by banking and the media. This illustrates a wide spread of some of the best known and most widely used consumer sectors.
This sounds particularly true during the coronavirus pandemic and associated quarantine, in which people are grappling with remote work technology, possible changes in finances, and an improvement in home entertainment services such as streaming.
