Phishing attacks are one of the main techniques hackers use to steal passwords. Not all are the same and that means that attackers do not always have the same probability of achieving their objective. Now, what is the most successful in Phishing? We will talk about it in this article. We will also give tips to avoid falling victim to this problem.
Most successful email subjects for Phishing
Phishing attacks usually arrive through an email. They send an email impersonating a company, for example, and try to get us to log in or download a file that is actually malware. In this way they will be able to have control of our account. But of course, not all emails are the same. That is why there are certain issues that are more successful .
According to a recent study by Kaspersky , email subjects that have to do with work or certain user-level services are the most likely to be successful. At least, according to what they indicate, they are the ones that are most likely to be clicked and opened by the victim.
What message subjects are the most successful in Phishing? This is the list from the Kaspersky study :
- Failed delivery attempt: We were unable to deliver your message (18.50% clickthrough)
- Emails have not been delivered due to server overload (18%)
- Online employee survey: what would you improve in the company’s work? (18%)
- Reminder: new dress code for the entire company (17.5%)
- Attention to all employees: new building evacuation plan (16%)
In addition to these email subjects that are usually more successful in Phishing, Kaspersky also indicates that others related to reservations , parcel shipments or contest announcements are usually quite successful.
In contrast, those emails that have a subject line with an instant threat or benefit have a much lower chance of success. For example, free Netflix offers barely had 1% clicks, well below the message subjects we have seen that were around 18%.
Tips to avoid Phishing
So what can we do to avoid Phishing? It doesn’t matter if it’s in the workplace or at the user level, you should always avoid problems with this type of threat. The most important thing is common sense . Always avoid making mistakes, such as opening a link without really knowing who is behind it, downloading a file without knowing the source, etc. That is going to be essential.
It is also important to have security programs. A good antivirus will always help detect the entry of malware and remove it if necessary. Use programs like Windows Defender, Avast, Bitdefender… You have many available, both free and paid.
On the other hand, many threats will take advantage of vulnerabilities that may exist. Always update your system , as well as any apps you use to browse the web. In this way you can correct certain security flaws and prevent an attacker from exploiting them.
In short, as you have seen, Phishing is a major problem. There are certain matters that may have a greater probability of success, but in any case you must always be alert and not make mistakes. You should always differentiate between Spam and Phishing email, although both can be dangerous.
