Social Engineering Attacks Are on the Rise

Phishing is one of the most common and dangerous forms of social engineering. It’s designed to trick users into giving away sensitive information such as login credentials, banking details, or company data. Attacks can arrive via email, text messages, social media, or even phone calls, and they often impersonate a trusted source so recipients let their guard down.

How Phishing Works

Imagine this scenario: you receive an email from your insurance company notifying you about a premium reduction. It asks you to verify your personal information by clicking a link. When you do, you’re directed to a spoofed site where you enter your account number—and now you’ve fallen victim to a phishing scam.

These attacks are successful because they often impersonate well-known brands like Apple, PayPal, Microsoft, Amazon, and Netflix. Reports show that nearly 97% of users can’t recognize a sophisticated phishing email, and even trained users sometimes fail phishing tests.

That’s why phishing remains such a serious problem: victims open 30% of phishing emails, and 12% click the malicious links or attachments inside them.

Why Phishing Is a Major Threat

Phishing is the launch point for most cyber incidents. Studies show that 91% of information security breaches begin with phishing attacks, and the FBI reports that business email compromise (BEC) scams cost organizations more than $2.9 billion annually.

Google registers millions of phishing websites each year, with new fraudulent sites popping up every few seconds. Small and mid-sized businesses are especially vulnerable because attackers know their defenses are often weaker. Healthcare, education, manufacturing, and professional services industries face particularly high risks.

For SMBs, losses can be devastating. A single BEC scam can cost between $50,000 and $100,000—or more. Beyond the financial impact, these attacks damage customer trust and brand reputation.

Common Types of Phishing Attacks

Phishing isn’t limited to suspicious emails. Cybercriminals use many variations, including:

• Spear Phishing: Targets a specific person or organization using tailored information.
• Whaling: Aimed at executives or leadership teams to gain access to sensitive corporate data.
• Clone Phishing: Replicates a legitimate email but swaps out attachments or links with malicious ones.
• Pop-up Phishing: Uses fake pop-up ads warning of “infections” to trick users into downloading malware.
• Vishing: Voice phishing that uses phone calls to impersonate banks, vendors, or government agencies.
• Smishing: Phishing via SMS text messages urging users to click a malicious link or call a fraudulent number.

How to Identify a Phishing Attack

Protecting your company starts with employee education. Warning signs of phishing include:

• Urgent subject lines such as “Important,” “Payment Required,” or “Action Needed.”
• Generic greetings like “Dear Account Holder” instead of your name.
• Requests for sensitive data (SSN, bank account numbers, passwords) by email.
• Suspicious “From” fields with misspelled or spoofed domains.
• Hyperlinks that don’t match the display text.
• Unexpected attachments (especially .exe or script files).
• Poor spelling, grammar, or formatting.
• Incorrect footers or outdated copyright information.

Employees should be trained to slow down, verify suspicious emails, and report them immediately.

How IntermixIT Can Help

Phishing and social engineering threats continue to rise, but you don’t have to tackle them alone. IntermixIT delivers award-winning cybersecurity services that protect small and mid-sized businesses across Pennsylvania.

Our services include:

• Cybersecurity awareness training to teach employees how to spot phishing.
• Advanced spam and phishing filters to block malicious emails.
• Enterprise-grade antivirus and malware protection.
• 24/7 IT support and monitoring.
• Managed IT services for complete protection.
• Supplemental IT services if you just need extra support for your in-house team.
• Data backup and recovery solutions to ensure business continuity in case of attack.

We serve clients in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, Reading, Allentown, Hershey, West Chester, Carlisle, and Philadelphia with managed IT services, supplemental IT services, and always-on IT support.

FAQs: Social Engineering and Phishing

What is social engineering in cybersecurity?
Social engineering is the use of manipulation or deception to trick people into sharing confidential information or granting access to systems. Phishing is the most common form.

Why are phishing attacks so successful?
Phishing works because it exploits human trust. Attackers impersonate legitimate brands or colleagues, creating urgency that causes people to click before thinking.

What industries are most at risk?
Healthcare, finance, education, legal, and manufacturing are frequent targets because they handle sensitive customer data and financial transactions.

How can businesses protect against phishing?
Employee training, spam filters, multi-factor authentication, and proactive cybersecurity services are key to preventing phishing attacks.