Don't Fall for These Top 10 Phishing Email Subject Lines

Cybercriminals are stepping up their game in trying to steal information via phishing emails, according to KnowBe4’s “Top 10 Global Phishing Email Subject Lines for Q1 2018.”

The results are compiled from analyzing data of KnowBe4 users. Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

The results show that, when delivered a simulated phishing test, users still continue to open messages with a mix of subject lines related to personal and company notifications.

“Hackers will do what works,” said Perry Carpenter, KnowBe4’s chief evangelist and strategy officer. “And what works is manipulating a human’s psyche to make them feel curious, important or even scared.”

In addition, Vade Secure has discovered a new phishing attack that represents more than 550 million emails sent since the first quarter. Countries with high concentrations of impacted email users include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

KnowBe4 also found an alarming trend with “in-the-wild” emails. These messages are based on actual messages users received and reported to their IT departments, and the top three subject lines relate to security concerns on school campuses.

“Cybercriminals expect that users will always be eager to correct a wrong address or to ensure that their bank accounts aren’t being breached,” Carpenter said. “What’s not expected is a user population that has been properly trained to identify suspicious emails, no matter how well-disguised or emotionally charged they are.”

Scroll through our gallery below to see the top 10 global phishing email subject lines, according to percentage clicked, and the most common “in-the-wild” subject lines.