DATA presented by Atlas VPN reveals that LinkedIn was related to over 52% of all phishing scams globally in the first quarter of 2022. Interestingly, it’s the first time that social media network was leveraged much more often than any tech giant brand name like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
Criminals reach out to the victims via email, instant messages, or telephone, pretending to be from reputable companies, in this case – LinkedIn, to lure out sensitive information. Many people tend to re-use their passwords, which means that losing your LinkedIn credentials can also lead to a break-in to your primary email account, which is often a gold mine for hackers.
The primary data for this report was courtesy of Check Point, a leading provider of cyber security solutions.
LinkedIn only appeared in 8% of all phishing attempts globally in the previous quarter. The LinkedIn brand name saw a 44% upshift in phishing scams in a relatively short period.
DHL dropped down from the first position to the second, with 14% of phishing attempts impersonating the well-known shipping company. There is one other shipping corporation on the list – FedEx. FedEx brand name was used in 6% of phishing attacks in Q1.
The usual cybercriminal favorites – Google and Microsoft were used in 7% and 6% of attacks, respectively.
WhatsApp (4%), Amazon (2%), Maersk (1%), AliExpress (0.8%), and Apple (0.8%) close out the top 10 list of brands that appear in phishing threats most often.
