What Is Phishing? Types, Impact & Prevention Tips | DNSFilter

What Is Phishing?

Phishing is a cyberattack technique that involves deceiving users into revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial data, by posing as a trusted source. These attacks often come in the form of emails, text messages, or fake websites and are designed to trick recipients into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware, or submitting confidential information.

Phishing is one of the most common—and successful—methods used by attackers to breach systems and steal data, particularly because it exploits human trust rather than technical vulnerabilities.

Phishing Overview

Phishing attacks continue to rise in frequency and sophistication, targeting organizations of all sizes and industries. Unlike brute-force attacks or exploits, phishing leverages social engineering—manipulating people into taking harmful actions, such as clicking a link or entering credentials on a fake site.

Phishing serves as a gateway to more damaging attacks, including ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and data breaches. It can be used to steal credentials, install malware, or gain access to internal systems through a compromised user account.

Defense starts with visibility and prevention. DNS filtering helps protect users by blocking access to known phishing domains and preventing redirection to fake login pages—even when users click a malicious link.

Types of Phishing

Phishing isn’t a single tactic—it’s a family of attack methods that vary in delivery, intent, and level of sophistication. Some campaigns are broad and opportunistic, while others are carefully crafted to target specific individuals or departments within an organization. What they all have in common is deception: the goal is to trick someone into taking an action that benefits the attacker.

Understanding the different types of phishing helps organizations recognize how attacks evolve and what defenses are most effective at each layer. The most common phishing methods include:

• Email Phishing
  The most widespread form. Attackers send mass emails impersonating legitimate companies or services, often with urgent messages to trick users into clicking or responding.
  
  
• Spear Phishing
  A more targeted approach where attackers research their victims and write personalized messages, often using real names, job titles, or internal references. Hackers will often take publicly available information from social sites like LinkedIn to create these campaigns.
  
  
• Whaling
  A subtype of spear phishing aimed at high-profile individuals such as executives or financial officers. The goal is often wire fraud or access to sensitive, internal data.
  
  
• Smishing
  Phishing over SMS. These messages often contain links or fake alerts that lead users to malicious websites or prompt them to share information.
  

Causes of Phishing Attacks

Phishing continues to be a leading cause of security incidents because it targets people, not just systems. Many phishing messages are highly convincing, often mimicking trusted brands, coworkers, or services with surprising accuracy. Even well-trained users can be fooled by meticulously designed  emails or websites.

Common causes of successful phishing include:

• Lack of user training or phishing awareness programs
  
  
• Inadequate email filtering or DNS-layer protection
  
  
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) fatigue
  
  
• Exploitable web forms and login portals
  
  
• Social engineering tactics that exploit urgency, authority, or curiosity

Because phishing scams are often difficult to recognize—even for savvy users—it’s important to combine training with technical defenses. For tips on identifying suspicious messages, see the FTC’s guide to recognizing and avoiding phishing scams.

Effects of Phishing

The consequences of phishing attacks can be severe and often extend beyond the initially compromised account. Key effects include:

• Credential theft, leading to unauthorized access to internal systems
  
  
• Malware or ransomware installation after clicking a malicious link or attachment
  
  
• Business email compromise (BEC), where attackers use a hijacked account to defraud others
  
  
• Direct financial losses through fraudulent transactions or wire fraud
  
  
• Breaches of sensitive data, including personal health information (PHI) or personally identifiable information (PII)

Early signs of a successful phishing attack may include suspicious account activity, unexpected password resets, or emails sent from internal accounts without user knowledge.

Phishing vs. Other Threats

Phishing overlaps with several other attack types but is distinct in how it functions as a delivery mechanism and social engineering tactic.

Phishing Statistics

• Phishing click rates tripled in 2024, including among users who had completed security awareness training. This surge highlights how phishing tactics are evolving to outsmart both human judgment and basic filtering tools—underscoring the need for layered defenses like DNS filtering.
  
  
• 91% of successful cyberattacks begin with a phishing email, making it the most common initial attack vector across all industries.
  
  
• Phishing queries increased by 203%: As reported in the 2025 Annual Security report, traffic to phishing sites increased roughly 3x, which mirrored an uptick in ransomware over the same time period.
  
  

Examples of Phishing in Action

Phishing campaigns often adapt to the moment, capitalizing on seasonal trends, public events, and social triggers to appear more convincing. Attackers craft messages that align with tax deadlines, elections, or current news to increase urgency and bypass skepticism.

Real-World Examples

• Seasonal Phishing Campaigns – Phishing attacks are increasingly tailored to seasonal trends and current events.
  
  
• Office 365 Spoof Pages – Fake login screens designed to harvest corporate credentials, often sent via email links disguised as document notifications.
  
  
• Fake Google Docs or Dropbox Shares – Attackers impersonate colleagues or services and prompt users to enter credentials on counterfeit login pages.
  
  
• IRS or Bank Impersonation Scams – Popular during tax season, these scams pressure users to respond to fake payment or refund requests.
  

Who Might Need Phishing Protection?

• Remote Workforces – Employees working off-network are more vulnerable to phishing links sent via personal email or text.
  
  
• Finance and Legal Teams – Frequently targeted with whaling attacks that request wire transfers or sensitive information.
  
  
• IT and Security Professionals – Require visibility into DNS activity and tools that can block phishing infrastructure at the domain level.
  

Stop Phishing at the Domain Level

Phishing may begin with a convincing email or text—but the real danger starts when a user connects to a malicious site. DNSFilter stops that connection before damage is done. 

Protect your team from phishing with real-time domain intelligence and DNS-layer security.

Explore Phishing Protection with DNSFilter →