Phishing trends that persisted throughout 2018
In reviewing the Q4 2018 most clicked subject lines, Knowbe4 identified these trends. Five subject line categories appeared quarter-over-quarter throughout 2018, including:
- Deliveries
- Passwords
- Company Policies
- Vacation
- IT Department (in-the-wild)
(You can compare past quarterly findings here.)
Additionally, three “in-the-wild subject lines” were clicked three out of four quarters and included Amazon, Wells Fargo and Microsoft as keywords.
Users are concerned about security
“Clicking an email is as much about human psychology as it is about accomplishing a task,” said Perry Carpenter, chief evangelist and strategy officer at KnowBe4. “The fact that we saw ‘password’ subject lines clicked four out of four quarters shows us that users are concerned about security. Likewise, users clicked on messages about company policies and deliveries each quarter showing a general curiosity about issues that matter to them. Knowing this information gives corporate IT departments tangible data to share with their users and to help them understand how to think before they click.”
Full infographic of top subjects in all categories for the last quarter
Q4 2018 Top-Clicked Phishing Email Subjects from KnowBe4. Full PDF here.
Top 10 most-clicked phishing subjects in Q4 2018
- Password Check Required Immediately/Change of Password Required Immediately 19%
- Your Order with Amazon.com/Your Amazon Order Receipt 16%
- Announcement: Change in Holiday Schedule 11%
- Happy Holidays! Have a drink on us. 10%
- Problem with the Bank Account 8%
- De-activation of [[email]] in Process 8%
- Wire Department 8%
- Revised Vacation & Sick Time Policy 7%
- Last reminder: please respond immediately 6%
- UPS Label Delivery 1ZBE312TNY00015011 6%
*Capitalization and spelling are as they were in the phishing test subject line.
**Email subject lines are a combination of both simulated phishing templates created by KnowBe4 for clients, and custom tests designed by KnowBe4 customers.
Most common ‘In the Wild’ attacks in this period were
- Apple: You recently requested a password reset for your Apple ID
- Employee Satisfaction Survey
- Sharepoint: You Have Received 2 New Fax Messages
- Your Support Ticket is Closing
- Docusign: You’ve received a Document for Signature
- ZipRecruiter: ZipRecruiter Account Suspended
- IT System Support
- Amazon: Your Order Summary
- Office 365: Suspicious Activity Report
- Squarespace: Account billing failure
*Capitalization and spelling are as they were in the phishing test subject line.
**In-the-wild email subject lines represent actual emails users received and reported to their IT departments as suspicious. They are not simulated phishing test emails.
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Cyber Safety Net is a KnowBe4 partner. Reposted with permission from https://blog.knowbe4.com/infographic-q4-2018-top-clicked-phishing-email-subjects-from-knowbe4. Cyber Safety Net – Keeping you safe online. See https://cybersafetynet.net/cyber-security-awareness-training/ to train and strengthen your human firewall. See https://youtu.be/UFpFesrcnvY and https://www.knowbe4.com/security-awareness-training-features/ to learn more.