Phishing remains one of the most prevalent and damaging cyber threats, and it's only getting more sophisticated. In 2025, small to medium-sized businesses are increasingly at risk of being targeted due to their often-limited cybersecurity resources. 

Understanding the latest phishing trends is critical to staying ahead of attackers and safeguarding your business. In this post, we explore key emerging phishing trends and how to mitigate their risks.

QR Code Phishing: A Growing Concern

QR codes are everywhere, from marketing campaigns to restaurant menus. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are exploiting this convenience by embedding malicious links in fake QR codes. These codes may lead to phishing websites that steal sensitive data or download malware onto unsuspecting devices.

How to Protect Your Business:

• Educate employees about the risks of scanning unknown QR codes.
• Use mobile security solutions that detect and block malicious links.
• Regularly verify the authenticity of QR codes used in your operations.

Voicemail Phishing (Vishing): A New Twist on an Old Tactic

Voicemail phishing, or vishing, has seen a resurgence in 2025 with the adoption of advanced AI voice cloning technology. Attackers impersonate executives, partners, or clients in voicemail messages, urging employees to take immediate actions, such as transferring funds or sharing confidential data.

How to Protect Your Business:

• Implement verification protocols for financial transactions and sensitive information sharing.
• Train employees to recognize suspicious voicemail requests.
• Utilize AI-driven solutions that can detect and flag cloned or fraudulent voice messages.

HR Impersonation Phishing

Attackers are increasingly targeting employees by impersonating HR departments. These phishing emails may include fake job offers, payroll updates, or benefits enrollment links, tricking employees into revealing personal or company information.

How to Protect Your Business:

• Regularly update employees on official HR communication channels.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for HR portals.
• Encourage employees to report any suspicious HR-related emails immediately.

Personalized Extortion Phishing

Personalized extortion scams are on the rise, leveraging stolen data from past breaches. Attackers craft emails that include personal details, making their threats—such as releasing sensitive information—seem credible.

How to Protect Your Business and Employees:

• Monitor for leaked company and employee data on the dark web.
• Enforce strict data access controls and encryption.
• Foster a culture where employees feel comfortable reporting suspicious activity without fear of blame.

Collaboration Tool Phishing

As businesses continue to rely heavily on collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Asana, attackers are crafting phishing scams tailored to these platforms. These scams often involve fake meeting invites or urgent messages containing malicious links.

How to Protect Your Business:

• Enable MFA for all collaboration tools.
• Train employees to verify the authenticity of meeting links and messages.
• Use advanced email and message filtering solutions to block malicious content.

Supply Chain Phishing

Cybercriminals are targeting businesses through their supply chains. They impersonate trusted vendors or partners, sending phishing emails to gain access to internal systems or sensitive data.

How to Protect Your Business:

• Verify any unusual or urgent requests from vendors through a secondary communication channel.
• Require vendors and partners to meet minimum cybersecurity standards.
• Regularly audit and monitor access permissions for external parties.

Strengthening Your Phishing Defenses

Staying ahead of phishing threats requires a proactive and layered approach to cybersecurity. Here are some general best practices for businesses:

• Employee Training: Conduct regular phishing awareness training sessions.
• Email Security: Invest in advanced email filtering and anti-phishing tools.
• Incident Response Plan: Develop and test a clear plan for responding to phishing attacks.
• Regular Updates: Keep software and systems updated to patch vulnerabilities.
• Cyber Insurance: Consider investing in cyber insurance to mitigate potential financial impacts.

Final Thoughts

The phishing landscape in 2025 is more advanced and dangerous than ever, particularly for businesses. Staying vigilant and proactive is key to protecting your company and its valuable assets.