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Security Awareness Training Email

Types of Phishing

Explain the major phishing attack types, from email and smishing to vishing and whaling, so employees know what to watch for.

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What You'll Learn Today:

Types of Phishing

From your email inbox to phone calls, texts, and everywhere in between, scammers have developed clever ways to steal and wreak havoc.

5 Main Phishing Threats
Paper Plane Icon
Email: This is the most common phishing type and has evolved with social engineering. Fake domains, odd hyperlink destinations, generic greetings, and other suspicious red flags are telltale signs you shouldn't engage and report the threat to your IT department.
Bullseye Icon
Spear Phishing: Take traditional email phishing tactics with added personalization, and you have yourself a spear campaign. Look out for urgency and immediate financial actions as well.
Paper Plane Icon
Email: This is the most common phishing type and has evolved with social engineering. Fake domains, odd hyperlink destinations, generic greetings, and other suspicious red flags are telltale signs you shouldn't engage and report the threat to your IT department.
Bullseye Icon
Spear Phishing: Take traditional email phishing tactics with added personalization, and you have yourself a spear campaign. Look out for urgency and immediate financial actions as well.
Whale Icon
Whaling: Like spear phishing for Moby Dick, these attacks target senior executive and management level employees. Often impersonating your own CEO, or even your immediate boss, these threats drive financial action urgency as well and may not always be as sophisticated as common spear attacks, but play on “pleasing the boss.”
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Smishing & Vishing: Think phishing, but via text message and plain old phone calls. These texts and calls try to elicit panic and urgency to click a link or provide secure information over the phone in some capacity. Never click links in strange texts, and be cautious when answering the phone and following any button prompts without confirming the source.
Fishing Rod Icon
Angler Phishing: The bad guys have taken to social media too. Anything from creating a fake site impersonating a social platform login page to steal legitimate credentials to creating fake accounts and promising giveaways if you DM your email address and some identifying info, these threats can be disguised in many ways and should always be a reminder to be careful about what you post and share when online.
Whale Icon
Whaling: Like spear phishing for Moby Dick, these attacks target senior executive and management level employees. Often impersonating your own CEO, or even your immediate boss, these threats drive financial action urgency as well and may not always be as sophisticated as common spear attacks, but play on “pleasing the boss.”
Mobile Icon
Smishing & Vishing: Think phishing, but via text message and plain old phone calls. These texts and calls try to elicit panic and urgency to click a link or provide secure information over the phone in some capacity. Never click links in strange texts, and be cautious when answering the phone and following any button prompts without confirming the source.
Fishing Rod Icon
Angler Phishing: The bad guys have taken to social media too. Anything from creating a fake site impersonating a social platform login page to steal legitimate credentials to creating fake accounts and promising giveaways if you DM your email address and some identifying info, these threats can be disguised in many ways and should always be a reminder to be careful about what you post and share when online.

Cybercriminals are getting smarter every day. Staying vigilant and taking precautions by double-checking sources, links, attachments, and the like will keep you safer.

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