75% e-commerce phishing attacks exploit Apple and Amazon’s brand names

Phishing is a type of cyber threat that has become very common, mainly because it is easy to perform and can work really well. Threat actors can easily buy ready-made phishing software and begin their malicious campaigns without needing to be very good with the technical stuff.

In order to initiate a phishing campaign, hackers require a website that looks legitimate. Once the website has been constructed, emails or messages are sent out to the potential victims, in which hackers pretend to be people from real business backgrounds. Victims are asked to click on the link attached to the email or message and are required to provide personal data along with banking details.

In order to make themselves look real, phishers might use the names of renowned companies from different areas, including banks, shops, or even government agencies. Based on the information shared by Kaspersky via Atlas VPN, most of the time, e-commerce sites are used to bait the victims. Data from last year revealed that in almost 42 percent of the phishing attacks, e-commerce sites were used to lure in the victims.

On the other hand, companies such as finance firms or payment system companies were also used to target victims; however, they only accounted for ten percent of the total cyber attacks.

The data was shared by the Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky, which collected it from people using its security software while keeping their identities anonymous. With e-commerce becoming more popular and giving rise to online shopping platforms, the number of companies impersonated by these hackers has also increased.

• Also read: New Recruitment Trend: Employers Prioritize AI Skills and Aptitude Over Traditional Qualifications

The most frequently used brand name is that of the tech giant Apple. Hackers offer Apple products at a very low price or offer them as a reward for forecasting the outcomes of any ongoing sports event. Last year, Apple’s name was used in over sixty percent of the total attacks. Apple was followed by Amazon as the second most used brand to lure victims. Collectively, the two companies were used in almost 75 out of 100 cyber threats. As mentioned above, payment system companies are also used such as PayPal. Out of all the attacks that were made using these companies, 84 percent were made by impersonating PayPal.

Hence, by looking out for emails from these brands, one can easily protect themselves from becoming the next victim.

Read next: Twitter Faces Revenue Slump Amid Declining User Engagement and Ad Sales
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World