The top 10 most impersonated brands online - Read this to steer clear of phishing

Phishing scams have been around for years, but the thieves behind them constantly change techniques. Earlier this year, phishing scams targeted your bank accounts. Tap or click here for details on these dangerous financial scams.

One of the most successful go-tos for cybercriminals is spoofing. That’s where they impersonate a famous brand or company you do business with and try to trick you out of personal information or banking details. The best way to avoid falling victim is to know what to look for in advance.

That’s why we’re sharing the list of the top 10 most impersonated brands online. Keep reading to discover which company’s phishing scammers are spoofing the most and ways to outsmart them.

Here’s the backstory

Security company Check Point recently released its Q3 Brand Phishing Report. It covers the websites and services spoofed most often to steal personal information, payment or banking information, and other types of valuable data.

You might be surprised to find out that the top 10 list doesn’t consist of all financial institutions. Delivery company DHL actually tops the list of most impersonated brands.

Here’s the complete top 10 list:

  1. DHL (22% of phishing attacks)
  2. Microsoft (16% of phishing attacks)
  3. LinkedIn (11% of phishing attacks)
  4. Google (6% of phishing attacks)
  5. Netflix (5% of phishing attacks)
  6. WeTransfer (5% of phishing attacks)
  7. Walmart (5% of phishing attacks)
  8. WhatsApp (4% of phishing attacks)
  9. HSBC (4% of phishing attacks)
  10. Instagram (3% of phishing attacks)

LinkedIn reigned supreme during Q1 and Q2, and researchers behind this report believe that DHL’s newfound rank could be due to one especially large attack earlier this summer. 

With online shopping so prevalent these days, it makes sense that a delivery company would be the target of phishing scams. Think about how panicked you might get if you receive a message claiming that your package can’t be delivered and you need to click a link to resolve the issue. Evil genius!

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