Common Phishing TacticsFraudsters Have All Kinds of Tricks Up Their Sleeves to Swipe Your Data

Brandon Figueroa | July 18, 2025 | 2 min read

Phishing Tactics That Fraudsters Use to Trick You into Giving Up Your Information

Phishing attacks are a masterclass in manipulation.

You see, scammers don’t steal your data by force… at least, it doesn’t seem that way. Instead, attackers prey on basic human emotions — trust, fear, curiosity, and a sense of urgency — to bypass your rational judgment and convince you to provide your information willingly.

By impersonating a known brand or manufacturing a high-pressure situation, they create a scenario designed to induce panic. Victims are made to feel as if they must fork over sensitive information immediately. In this chapter, we explore some of the most common deceptive tactics fraudsters use to bait their targets.

Phishing

Phishing involves a scammer attempting to deceive unsuspecting victims into voluntarily divulging sensitive information. An estimated 90% of cyberattacks begin with a phishing attempt. Here’s what you need to know about these attacks and how you can protect yourself.

Knowledge Guide

Most Common Phishing Tactics

The ultimate goal of a phishing scam has remained the same over the years. The scammer is trying to trick the victim into handing over access to sensitive information. The target is typically financial data, but any personal account could be subject to an attack.

That said, the tactics have evolved a lot over the years. Nowadays, scammers have access to a wide range of different techniques and sophisticated technology. Some common tactics include:

Email Phishing

Sending out generic messages with phony links, en masse, to unsuspecting consumers. This is a “wide-net” tactic; the idea is that most consumers will not fall for it. But, if the fraudster casts a wide-enough net, then at least a few victims will respond.

Vishing

Vishing, or “voice phishing,” involves the use of telephone calls to illicitly obtain sensitive personal information. Scammers call targets and use social engineering strategies to persuade victims into disclosing confidential details.

Smishing

SMS phishing, or “smishing,” happens when a scammer lures in victims through text messaging or another SMS platform. The attacker convinces their victim to click a link or provide information that compromises their identity.

Account Suspension

The fraudster sends a message, prompting users to sign in to an account to verify their information and avoid account suspension. Little does the victim suspect that their response is what ultimately compromises the account.

Spear Phishing

A phishing attack by which the scammer targets a specific individual, using known personal details to get a response. In many cases, the scammer uses partial data to try and trick the victim into revealing more personal information.

Whaling

This takes spear phishing one step further. The tactic is basically the same, but the scammer is targeting high-profile individuals, like senior executives within a company or organization. BEC tactics are often employed as part of a whaling scam.

Angler Phishing

Here, a scammer leverages all types of personal details divulged through social media to target an individual. The scammer effectively triangulates between the victim and the victim’s existing online presence.

Scammers Need Your Help to Succeed

Note that all of these tricks involve action on the part of the victim. The target has to key-in information, click on a link, or respond to a text.

That’s one of the most important takeaways here: phishing only works if you cooperate with the scammer. If the targeted individual does not go along with the phishing attack, and hand over the information requested, then the attack dies right there.

We’ll talk in more detail about how to protect yourself against phishing attacks in a later chapter. For now, just remember that reporting and blocking suspicious communications is the best defense against phishing scams.

Phishing

Common Phishing TacticsFraudsters Have All Kinds of Tricks Up Their Sleeves to Swipe Your Data