The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revealed its findings on the companies most impersonated during 2023 in an attempt to help potential customers and victims better prepare against these types of attacks.
The report found that the most spoofed company, with a total of 52,000 reports of phishing scams, was Best Buy and its subsidiary, Geek Squad, with losses worth $15 million.
The top three positions are completed by Amazon, with 34,000 complaints, and PayPal, with 10,000 complaints. Of the 10 most phished companies alone, a total of 132,000 cases of phishing scams were detected, and many more likely went unnoticed or even unnoticed.
Beware of Phishing Scams from These Companies
Despite having many more cases of recognized phishing scams than any of the other companies, the financial losses associated with the Best Buy and Geek Squad scams rank it in sixth place. The $15 million in losses was dwarfed by the $60 million in losses related to Microsoft, even though the tech giant had significantly fewer (7,000) reported cases.
The difference is even more considerable when comparing the average cost per attack: $288 for Best Buy/Geek Squad versus $8,571 for Microsoft.
In light of the worrying outlook, the FTC has shared information on some of the most common tactics to watch out for, including service renewal fees, fake security pop-ups, and fees for claiming non-existent prizes. The FTC also highlighted the rise of social networks as an attack vector along with classic email and fraudulent gift cards.
To help customers avoid falling victim to scams, the FTC advises buyers to ask and question anyone who requests payment using a specific method, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency. Customers should report scams through ReportFraud.ftc.gov to provide the agency with more information about fraudulent activity and prevent future attacks.
