Research from Darktrace shows that in the week leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there was a 692% increase in phishing attacks. At the same time, Christmas-themed phishing attacks rose by 327% globally.

Retailers in the United States saw the greatest increase in threat activity, in which malicious actors mimicked promotional emails from popular brands to target shoppers. Major brands (such as Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Old Navy and Best Buy) faced an increase of more than 2,000% in such attacks. Furthermore, the research found that impersonations of consumer brands rose by 92% globally while workplace brands (like Zoom or LinkedIn) decreased by 9%. 

The research broke down the most commonly utilized attack methods observed during the holiday season. These include: 

• Brand spoofing 
• Domain spoofing
• Safelink smuggling
• Multi-stage attacks

These attacks can be difficult for retailers to defend against, since the target is the consumer rather than the organization itself. As these threats occur beyond the retailer’s infrastructure and security controls, a retailer’s options for solutions are limited. Consumers are encouraged to be mindful of these threats as the holiday season continues.