Phishing in 2025: How Cybercriminals Exploit Brands and User Habits

Phishing remains one of the most persistent and rapidly evolving threats within the digital landscape, and recent findings from Check Point Research (CPR) underscore how attackers are constantly updating their strategies to take advantage of shifting user habits and the immense popularity of major technology brands. During the second quarter of 2025, Microsoft again emerged as the world’s most impersonated brand in phishing campaigns, a testament to both its dominance in the tech market and the unyielding resourcefulness of cybercriminals. The CPR report offers not just stark statistics, but also a nuanced portrait of the social engineering tricks that continue to outwit even the savviest users, and just how quickly threat actors pivot to exploit familiar logos in new contexts.

Microsoft’s Relentless Popularity Among Phishers​

That Microsoft has reclaimed—if it ever relinquished—the top position among most-phished brands is unsurprising when the scale of the company’s ecosystem is scrutinized. Over 1.6 billion individuals globally rely on the Windows operating system, and Microsoft 365 boasts approximately 345 million paid subscriber seats with 321 million monthly active users as of 2025, according to industry analysts and Microsoft’s own quarterly disclosures. With such an enormous user base, attackers wager that even a minuscule click-through rate on their phishing lures will produce enough victims to make their campaigns worthwhile.
Historically, this expanded reach has been a double-edged sword. Microsoft Office was the most targeted software for malware attacks in 2022, according to a Kaspersky Security Bulletin and other threat intelligence sources. Similarly, Microsoft featured at the top of phishing brand rankings through 2023 and now, as per CPR's newest research, again in Q2 2025. The attack vectors are broad: everything from fake password-reset notifications and fraudulent Microsoft 365 account alerts to messages mimicking OneDrive, SharePoint, or support center contacts that induce users to click malicious links or divulge their credentials.
One new twist, according to observations from Q2 2025, involved phishing emails engineered to mimic the Microsoft 365 support process. These messages often instructed victims to call a number for supposed account recovery assistance, rerouting unsuspecting users to fake help desk agents who then harvested credentials or tricked victims into authorizing malicious remote access tools. While such “vishing” campaigns are not novel, the integration of convincing visual templates and psychological urgency makes the current wave especially effective—requiring increasingly sophisticated countermeasures at both the technical and user-awareness levels.

Spotify’s Surprising Re-emergence as a Phishing Lure​

The Q2 report also highlights a notable resurgence: for the first time since 2019, Spotify was among the top ten most impersonated brands. This was not a random occurrence or simply a result of Spotify’s continued popularity as a streaming service. Rather, cybercriminals executed a targeted spoofing campaign that almost perfectly replicated Spotify’s own login flow. The malicious campaign rerouted unsuspecting users to a convincingly branded fake page, seeking login details and subsequently presenting a counterfeit payment or subscription form.
Researchers examining the campaign found that both the design and interface were strikingly accurate, fooling even alert users who believed they were logging into their real Spotify account. These attacks were not just about music or entertainment credentials; Spotify accounts tied to payment data or other connected services represent an appealing target for monetary theft and further identity hijacking. The reappearance of such an entertainment platform in phishing charts signals a deliberate attacker shift. No longer confining their efforts solely to enterprise or tech platforms, threat actors are exploiting platforms that individuals use daily, knowing that trust (and a lack of suspicion around entertainment or subscription emails) translates into higher click rates.

Booking.com and the Evolution of Social Engineering​

Travel and booking platforms have always been on the radar for scammers, but Q2 2025 marked an exponential rise in the impersonation of Booking.com, as documented in both CPR and independent investigations by security watchdogs such as Hackread.com. Researchers identified a sudden spike—a 100-fold increase quarter over quarter—in the registration of domains closely resembling legitimate booking confirmation or payment URLs. Over 700 new domains were flagged in this burst alone.
Several high-profile phishing waves exploited Booking.com’s brand to deliver payloads such as AsyncRAT, a notorious remote access trojan, via what’s known as the ClickFix email scam. Operating at scale, these campaigns used genuine-looking booking details, personalizing emails with recipients’ actual names and emails to enhance believability and instill urgency. The consequence is twofold: not only did attackers trick users into opening compromised links or attachments, but they also bypassed many traditional anti-spam and heuristic filters due to their highly tailored contents.
Even as authorities and vigilant hosting providers worked swiftly to remove these malicious domains, the episode serves as a stark reminder of how rapidly attackers can adapt, co-opting commercial services and harnessing real user data in their schemes. The personalization seen in these campaigns also hints at broader underlying data breaches or the increased use of data-mining bots to harvest information from public forums and social media.

The Broader Phishing Landscape: Tech, Retail, and Social Media​

While Microsoft’s dominance is clear, the full CPR phishing brand index for Q2 2025 contextualizes the tech giant’s position. Tech-sector heavyweights Google and Apple continue to occupy the second and third slots, underscoring how organization-wide reliance on cloud email and productivity platforms creates a lucrative attack surface.
Social media brands—LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Facebook—remain perennial targets, with attackers capitalizing on these platforms' centrality in both professional and personal communication. LinkedIn phishing lures, for instance, often reference fake job offers or routine security warnings, while Facebook and WhatsApp are rife with account takeover or “account locked” scams.
Retail and travel brands round out the top ten, with Amazon and Booking.com as notable examples. These companies’ routine use of email notifications, promotional offers, delivery tracking, and itinerary confirmations provide perfect thematic ground for phishers to plant their seeds. Amazon, in particular, is a mainstay owing to the sheer volume of global shopping that traverses its platform; consumers are often tricked by supposedly urgent “order issues,” “delayed shipments,” or bogus refund requests.
A vital observation in CPR’s report is the expansion of target profiles. Where once attacks centered around business email compromise (BEC) and credential harvesting from enterprise users, Q2 2025 showcases mass campaigns that do not discriminate: everyday consumers, small business owners, and corporate employees are all viable targets. The democratization of both attack technology and data leakage means that sophisticated phishing kits are now easily accessible to even low-skilled attackers—facilitating rapid shifts in target selection based on current events, pop culture, or the travel season.

Anatomy of Modern Phishing: Techniques and Trends in 2025​

Modern phishing has come a long way from typos, off-brand logos, and text-only emails. The reality in 2025 is that attackers employ means nearly indistinguishable from legitimate brand communications. Several converging trends and tactics stand out:

• Polished Design and Immersive Branding: Malicious pages match official color schemes, icon sets, and even dynamic elements (such as two-factor authentication popups) to mirror trusted login flows. By cloning brand asset repositories and utilizing open-source CSS and JavaScript frameworks, attackers achieve impressive authenticity.
• Domain Spoofing and Homographs: Domain names use clever substitutions—swapping ‘o’ with ‘0’, adding micro-prefixes like “secure-” or “helpdesk-”, or echoing subdomain paths seen in real transaction links. Some go further, using internationalized domain names (IDN), where visually similar Unicode characters stand in for normal Latin letters, evading user scrutiny.
• Multi-Stage Lures: Campaigns frequently unfold in stages. The user is first presented with a generic message (“Suspicious Sign-In Activity Detected”), which upon click shows a branded portal requesting login credentials. Following this, a secondary page asks for payment information, two-factor tokens, or even device cookies, wringing out every possible credential or data element.
• Use of Real User Data: The most dangerous attacks are highly personalized. If an attacker already knows a recipient’s name, partial password, or service usage patterns (often gleaned from prior breaches or social scraping), the email’s legitimacy skyrockets—and with it, the likelihood of a successful compromise.
• Phone-Based “Vishing” and Hybrid Approaches: As demonstrated by the Microsoft case in Q2 2025, many campaigns combine conventional email-based phishing with voice elements—directing victims to call fraudulent support hotlines, where skilled operators then trick targets into divulging information or installing remote desktop tools.
• New Channels and Vectors: Phishers increasingly target users through messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram), SMS (“smishing”), and in-app notifications, not just classic email. The rise in QR code-based scams (QRishing) takes advantage of hybrid device activity, especially when users shift between laptops and smartphones.

Notable Strengths of Current Awareness Strategies​

Despite these ongoing threats, a number of strengths are emerging in the fight against phishing:

• Increased User Awareness: Years of public cybersecurity education—driven by corporate IT training, government campaigns, and high-visibility breaches—mean more users are alert to suspicious requests or unusual sender addresses.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA solutions, widespread among Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Apple ID, and Amazon accounts, reduce the efficacy of credential-theft alone. Even if a password is stolen, additional verification is required before an attacker can access sensitive information.
• Cloud Email Security Advancements: Modern email services are integrating machine learning-based anomaly detection, URL rewriting, and real-time link scanning to flag or block known and emerging phishing pages. Google’s and Microsoft’s anti-phishing features are particularly robust, with reputation feeds updated both by threat intelligence partners and user reports.
• Community Intelligence Sharing: Forums such as WindowsForum.com, BleepingComputer, and Hackread.com, alongside official CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams), facilitate real-time updates about new scams, suspected domains, and remediation strategies. This collective vigilance curtails the operational windows for many phishing campaigns.
• Rapid Domain Takedowns: Partnership between private industry (notably hosting providers and registrars) and public sector groups has improved the speed with which malicious sites are identified and shuttered. While attackers can quickly stand up new URLs, the average uptime for phishing sites is trending downward.

Persistent Weaknesses and Serious Risks​

Yet, even as technical defenses and awareness grow, the phishing landscape remains fraught with vulnerabilities:

• User Fatigue and Urgency Exploits: Attackers understand that urgency—“Your account will be locked in 24 hours! Act now!”—short-circuits critical thinking. The increasing realism of lures and the sheer volume of daily digital communications dilute the effectiveness of constant vigilance over time.
• Credential Reuse: Stolen credentials from one platform are often reused across services—meaning a successful phishing attack can lead to cascading breaches on unrelated accounts, especially if users neglect good password hygiene.
• Evolving Social Engineering Techniques: Advances in AI-driven text generation and image synthesis enable hyper-personalized phishing emails and landing pages. Deepfakes—audio or video—are a looming risk, with several reported cases of fraudulent video meetings and fake support calls already in circulation.
• Gap in Small Business Security: While enterprises often have layered security stacks, many SMEs rely solely on basic email filtering and user caution. Phishing kits tailored to these environments dramatically raise the odds of a compromise.
• Mobile Device Blind Spots: Many users perform personal and professional tasks on mobile, where interface space is limited and link previews are often hidden. QRishing and app-based phishing increase the attack surface, with detection lagging behind web-based equivalents.

Actionable Recommendations for Users and Businesses​

Defending against phishing today demands a blend of strategic technology adoption, process rigor, and ever-evolving awareness:

• For Individuals:
  • Always verify the sender’s email address and check for subtle variations.
  • Never input credentials or payment information on sites accessed via unsolicited links—always enter web addresses manually or use bookmarked URLs.
  • Scrutinize URLs, looking for misspelled domains or suspicious subdomains.
  • Enable multi-factor authentication on all critical accounts.
  • Cross-check any urgent request (password reset, support call, payment notice) with the official app or service, never via a link provided in an email.
  • Use link checkers such as VirusTotal, and leverage browser security features that flag unsafe sites.
• For Businesses:
  • Institute mandatory, periodic cybersecurity training for all employees, using real phishing simulations for experiential learning.
  • Deploy robust email security solutions that incorporate threat intelligence feeds, URL filtering, and anomaly detection.
  • Regularly audit user permissions and minimize access privileges to reduce potential harm from successful phishing attempts.
  • Ensure cyber incident response plans specifically address social engineering and external communications.
  • Segregate critical systems and implement network-level controls so that a compromised account cannot facilitate lateral movement.
• Community-Wide:
  • Report phishing attempts to relevant certifying authorities, hosting providers, and consumer protection bodies.
  • Participate in collaborative threat intelligence platforms to keep ahead of the latest attack trends and ensure rapid domain takedowns.
  • Support ongoing public awareness initiatives and foster a culture where reporting suspicious emails or messages is encouraged, not stigmatized.

Looking Forward: The Battle Intensifies​

Phishing may be centuries old in concept, but its execution in 2025 is more agile and devastating than ever. As Microsoft once again tops the phishing brand index, its unrivaled reach brings both responsibility and risk—serving as a stark reminder of the digital world’s interconnected, and frequently imperiled, reality. Cybercriminals have demonstrated that they will exploit whatever brands, technologies, or news cycles can maximize return on their efforts, pivoting with frightening speed to new lures, platforms, and exploits.
As global dependency on digital services grows, the onus is on all stakeholders—individuals, businesses, service providers, and security researchers—to adapt and improve together. The arms race between phishing attackers and defenders is far from over. Only by remaining vigilant, sharing knowledge rapidly, deploying robust technical safeguards, and nurturing a human-centric culture of security, can users hope to shield themselves from the relentless evolution of social engineering threats.
For ongoing updates and deeper insights on phishing, cybersecurity trends, and detailed threat analyses, trusted sources like Hackread.com and WindowsForum.com remain indispensable—because in cybersecurity, knowledge and timely action are not just power, they are protection.

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Source: Hackread Microsoft Most Phished Brand in Q2 2025, Check Point