Every day, we receive a vast number of emails, among which several manage to slip through offering us “prizes” or “deals” that seem too good to miss. In the end, these are never what they claim to be; instead, it might be your own company setting a trap for you.
Phishing messages pose a very real danger to companies and can ultimately cause significant harm and millions of dollars in losses. In 2021 alone, the FBI recorded over 300,000 complaints about phishing attacks, a 30% increase from the previous year. Looking at 2022, the figures reveal that Americans lost $10.3 billion due to online scams (phishing, identity theft, etc.).
To prevent more significant harm, companies attempt to educate their employees to recognize these types of attacks instantly. In these cases, companies test their employees with emails that, at first glance, would appear quite legitimate.
Taylor Swift and other types of bait
A good trap must also have bait that is up to the task. In this case, Taylor Swift has proven to be an ideal figure to make people click even on the most suspicious links. KnowBe4, a security-focused company, used Taylor and her Eras Tour to develop a fake email template that was then sent to thousands of employees.
During a 30-day period, the email was sent about 17,600 times to different users, and ultimately, 533 ended up clicking the fraudulent link. However, not all “attacks” are based on the American singer. The same company, KnowBe4, also has a more controversial category that provides emails with more sensitive subjects. Work-related tests, issues related to the human resources department, meeting requests, salary updates… any of these reasons can imitate real attacks and thus test employees. Would you fall for any of these traps?
