The trend toward brand phishing to steal personal credentials and information continues unabated. In the last quarter of 2024, the most frequently counterfeited brands came from the technology sector. There are also counterfeits from PayPal, Facebook, Nike, Adidas, and various luxury brands.
Check Point Research (CPR) has released its latest Brand Phishing Ranking for Q4 2024. In the fourth quarter, Microsoft remained the most frequently imitated brand at 32 percent. Apple maintained second place with 12 percent, while Google retained its third place with 12 percent, but a slightly lower value at the decimal point. LinkedIn reappeared at number four on the list after a brief absence. The technology sector emerged as the most frequently imitated industry, followed by social networks and retail.
Omer Dembinsky, Data Group Manager at Check Point Software, commented: "The persistence of brand phishing attacks underscores the importance of user education and advanced security measures. Verifying email sources, avoiding unknown links, and enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) are critical steps to protect personal and financial data from ever-evolving threats."
Top Brand Phishing Brands
Below are the top 10 brands, ranked by their total share of phishing attacks in the fourth quarter of 2024:
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Read the best news from B2B CYBER SECURITY once a month- Microsoft – 32%
- Apple – 12%
- Google – 12%
- LinkedIn – 11%
- Alibaba – 4%
- WhatsApp – 2%
- Amazon – 2%
- Twitter – 2%
- Facebook – 2%
- Adobe – 1%
Fake domains from Nike, Adidas, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren
During the holiday season, several phishing campaigns targeted shoppers by imitating the websites of well-known clothing brands. For example, domains such as nike-blazers[.]fr, nike-blazer[.]fr, and nike-air-max[.]fr were designed to trick users into believing they were official Nike platforms (see Figure 1). These fraudulent websites mimic the brand's logo and lure victims into purchasing with unrealistically low prices. Their goal is to trick users into disclosing sensitive information such as login credentials and personal details so that the hackers can steal their data.
Further examples including fake domains are:
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🔎Fake websites for Nike and LuluLemon advertise with photos of existing stores. (Source: Check Point Software Technologies Inc.)
Adidas – adidasyeezy[.]co[.]no, adidassamba[.]com[.]mx, adidasyeezy[.]ro and adidas-predator[.]fr
- LuluLemon – lululemons[.]ro (see image)
- Hugo Boss – www[.]hugoboss-turkiye[.]com[.]tr, hugobosssrbija[.]net and www[.]hugoboss-colombia[.]com[.]co
- Guess – www[.]erraten-indien[.]in
- Ralph Lauren – www[.]ralphlaurenmexico[.]com[.]mx
Fake PayPal login page to steal login data
🔎PayPal: Phishing page (left), original login page (right). (Source: Check Point Software Technologies Inc.)
CPR has also identified a malicious phishing website impersonating the well-known online payment service provider PayPal under the domain wallet-paypal[.]com (see image). This fake website imitates the PayPal login page, including the official logo, to deceive users. By creating a false sense of legitimacy, victims are tricked into logging in or registering, after which their personal information is harvested.
Facebook identification
In the last quarter of 2024, CPR identified a fraudulent website (svfacebook[.]click) designed to mimic the Facebook login page. It prompted victims to enter personal information such as their email address and password. Although the domain no longer points to an active website, it was recently created and had previously hosted several subdomains mimicking the Facebook login page.
Given the ever-increasing number of phishing attempts targeting globally recognized brands, users must remain vigilant and proactively apply security best practices. Installing up-to-date security software, recognizing suspicious patterns in unsolicited messages and emails, and avoiding interactions with suspicious websites can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to phishing attempts.
More at CheckPoint.com
About check point Check Point Software Technologies GmbH (www.checkpoint.com/de) is a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for public administrations and companies worldwide. The solutions protect customers from cyberattacks with an industry leading detection rate for malware, ransomware and other types of attacks. Check Point offers a multi-level security architecture that protects company information in cloud environments, networks and on mobile devices, as well as the most comprehensive and intuitive “one point of control” security management system. Check Point protects over 100.000 businesses of all sizes.