Phishing schemes have evolved into sophisticated operations that wreak havoc on businesses. In some cases, phishers impersonate CEO’s. In others, they make fraudulent invoice requests. According to a 2025 IBM report, phishing costs companies an average of $4.4 million per attack(nowe okno).

But there’s a way to prevent this kind of costly attack, and it starts with your employees. A recent investigation by Verizon found that 8% of employees are responsible for a whopping 80% of phishing attacks(nowe okno). As technology advances faster than ever, cybercriminals are using new ways to exploit human behavior, rather than security safeguards, to breach data systems.

In this article, we’ve provided phishing warning signs, phishing attack examples to look out for, and the 10 best business practices you can implement to prevent a phishing attack from hurting your business.

What is phishing?

Phishing is a form of cybercrime designed to trick people, oftentimes employees, into revealing personal or sensitive information by impersonating a trusted entity. But phishing doesn’t just happen in emails and phony website anymore. Instead of hacking an organization’s software, which requires a higher level of technical skill, phishers exploit human psychology and error using emotionally manipulative tools like persuasion, urgency, and authority to get victims to hand over sensitive material with ease.

For example, an employee could receive an email that appears to come from their CEO, a supplier, or a well-known service provider. The message would likely warn of a security breach, a missed invoice, or a suspicious login attempt, and urge the recipient to take immediate action. When the recipient clicks the embedded link or replies to the email with their sensitive information (like login credentials or confidential account information), the attacker can gain access to a business’s entire network of internal systems.

Common types of phishing attacks

There are many types of phishing attacks that can result in fraud or a data breach. Below are the most common types:

  • Email phishing: A fake message from a company executive or B2B vendor that requests an employee’s login credentials, which then allows the attacker access to a company’s data systems.
  • Smishing: Phishing through SMS messaging or texting applications, such as WhatsApp.
  • Vishing: Video or audio scams pretending to be an authority figure, such as a CEO or bank representative.
  • Quishing: Phishing through fake QR codes that lead the victim to a fraudulent link.

Phishing signs to look out for

Not sure how to differentiate between a real email and a scam? Below are key ways you can tell you’re dealing with a phishing email instead of the real thing:

  • Suspicious or mismatched email sender addresses.
  • Urgent or fear-inducing language.
  • Requests for sensitive data.
  • Misspellings, grammatical errors, unusual tone, or in the case of AI, no errors at all and an “off” or rigid tone.
  • Links leading to a website that doesn’t match the official website domain.
  • Requests for login credentials or personal financial information.

Phishing prevention strategies and best practices

You can ensure your business and your employees stay one step ahead of phishers by taking action. Below are the best practices to follow:

  1. Train employees to identify phishing attempts and encourage your team to report all possible phishing attacks, even if they aren’t positive a message is fake.
  2. Implement strong email filtering and anti-phishing tools. You can start by switching to a privacy-first email provider like Proton Mail, which has smart spam filtering and built-in PhishGuard to flag potential phishing attacks.
  3. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) using Proton Authenticator to provide an extra layer of protection for your and your employees’ online accounts.
  4. Regularly update operating systems and browsers to ensure hackers and phishers can’t access your data through bugs in your software.
  5. Verify all requests for financial transactions or data changes.
  6. Conduct simulated phishing exercises like the ones we’ve compiled in this blog.
  7. Enforce strong password management policies and use a password manager for added security.
  8. Monitor the internet regularly to look out for domain spoofing or phishers impersonating your own brand.
  9. Implement end-to-end data encryption and use a VPN.
  10. Have a clear incident response plan for phishing attacks and make sure employees know how to report attacks properly.

Real-world examples of phishing attacks

Phishing continues to thrive because it exploits the weakest link in cybersecurity: people. Below are some high-profile, real-life examples:

Keep your data safe with Proton

While companies invest heavily in security systems, a single click by an employee targeted in a phishing scam can render safeguards useless in a matter of seconds.

The result? Giant financial losses and data breaches that can take months to recover from. In the B2B sector, phishing can also erode trust between partners and clients, jeopardizing long-term relationships.

With Proton’s suite of privacy-first apps, your business and your employees can stay ahead of phishers and hackers at all times.

Ready to give your employees the tools they need to succeed? Learn about Proton’s encrypted solutions so you can start protecting your business today.