APWG Reports Record High Phishing Attacks in 2023

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reported in their Q4 2023 Phishing Activity Trends Report a record high of almost five million phishing instances in 2023, marking it as the worst year for phishing. Despite a mid-year downturn, a significant increase in attacks was noted towards year-end, with over a million detected in the fourth quarter alone.

Notably, after the January 2023 shutdown of the Freenom free domain name program, which was heavily utilized by phishers, there was a temporary reduction in phishing attacks. However, the latter part of the year saw a resurgence. Additionally, a shift towards telephone-based "vishing" or voice phishing is now deemed significant, with AI technologies potentially playing a larger role in such scams moving forward.

Social media platforms were the primary targets, constituting 42.8 percent of all phishing attacks in the last quarter, a significant rise from the previous quarter. Financial institutions saw a decline in phishing attacks. Alarmingly, hybrid vishing attacks, which integrate email and telephone tactics, also saw a rise, signaling a possible evolution in phishing strategies.