Phishing: understand how to protect your brand from these frauds

In an increasingly digital world, it is not uncommon to see companies looking for new ways and strategies to increase their online popularity. After all, it is through this channel that relationships with leads, customers, and partners are developed: many companies even operate solely on the internet.

However, it is not only brands that see this channel as an opportunity to expand their reach. Fraudsters also see the online market as a chance to exploit legitimate brands to promote their scams.

Among the most common occurrences, we find phishing websites and ads, fraudulent practices aimed at promoting fake promotions or even collecting sensitive information from innocent users.

Want to understand what phishing actions really are and how to prevent them from harming your brand and your customers? Join Branddi and learn how to protect yourself!

What is Phishing?

The term phishing is a variant of the word "fishing." The name says a lot about how these frauds operate: through digital "baits" that seek to attract users with messages that exploit trust and urgency.

To do this, fraudsters develop fake profiles, domains, emails, ads, raffles, vouchers, SMS, or unsolicited credit card approvals. Regardless of the format, the goal is always the same: to use elements from legitimate brands to emulate false credibility in the eyes of the public.

Main Types of Phishing

Although the objectives are the same, phishing practices vary in formats and targets, making these occurrences not only more complex to identify but also harder to trace.

Among the most common categories, we can highlight:

• Email phishing: One of the most traditional methods, using fraudulent emails to deceive unsuspecting users;
• Spear phishing: This category includes actions targeted at specific individuals or companies, with personalized and highly convincing messages;
• Whaling: A variant of spear phishing aimed at high-level executives or important figures, with a high potential for damage;
• Pharming: A phishing technique that redirects internet traffic from legitimate websites to fake ones by manipulating DNS.

The Hidden Danger of Phishing Messages for Brands

When we talk about phishing practices, it’s common to think of consumers as the only potential victims of this type of fraud. However, this thinking is not only misguided but also dangerous.

This is because many brands, believing they are protected from such occurrences, neglect to invest in digital protection and end up becoming easy targets for fraudsters. But do you really know the true danger of these occurrences for legitimate brands?

Phishing websites, ads, and messages that use elements belonging to your brand can not only steal your organic conversions but also deeply impact the trust your audience has in your company. Not to mention the security risks these threats pose to your brand when exploited by criminals.

In other words, understanding how to protect yourself from phishing practices is essential not only to protect your consumers but also your digital presence. This ensures that your brand is the only one profiting from your intellectual property.

So, how can you safeguard your company against phishing?

How to Protect Your Brand Against Phishing?

Last year, in 2023, Google released the Google Cloud Cybersecurity Forecast 2024 report to the public. One piece of information in the report caught the attention and raised concerns among experts: the combined rise of phishing attacks with generative AI in 2024.

This new reality has triggered the need for brands to prepare to deal with increasingly convincing occurrences, preventing them from negatively impacting the company.

With this in mind, Branddi has decided to share three exclusive tips to help brands protect themselves against phishing. Check them out!

Raise awareness with your team and your customers

Long-term education is a powerful tool to protect any brand from digital threats. That’s why it’s so important for your company to understand and promote security and vigilance instructions, not only within your team but also for your customers.

After all, this awareness from your audience will help them identify inconsistencies in your communication patterns to uncover potential phishing occurrences.

Encourage your employees to also maintain a healthy skepticism toward these cases, guiding them to report any suspicious activity to your company’s information security department.

Unify and standardize your brand's communication and interaction channels

Brand voice and personality are common concepts in marketing branding. However, they can also become allies in your security!

This is because, by aligning your company's communication channels and interaction style, you create a solid narrative in the eyes of your customers and partners. In this way, emails, messages, or ads that deviate from the established pattern will raise suspicion.

This brand consistency will not only protect your business but also give more authority and identity to your communications, keeping fraudsters at bay who take advantage of weaknesses in your structure.

Rely on specialized support for continuous monitoring

Just as important as dedicating time and resources to boosting your digital security is knowing where to start building it.

And that's where a specialized partner like Branddi comes in: with expertise in the field, our team will provide careful and in-depth monitoring. This means we can identify even the most experienced fraudsters who operate below the average market surveillance.

By recognizing suspicious activities early, your brand ensures more time to create more targeted and accurate responses. As a result, your business can significantly reduce the negative impact phishing could have on your network.

Learn more about our approach in the section below!

Protect your brand from phishing with Branddi!

At Branddi, we work tirelessly to ensure peace of mind and security for your brand.

In cases involving phishing actions and other frauds, our team combines expertise and artificial intelligence to conduct thorough monitoring across social media, Google Ads, and customer service channels. This is in addition to providing competent analysis across the more than 2,000 existing TLDs.

So, if our system detects suspicious behavior involving your brand, we proceed with sending notifications and reports to over 5,000 platforms, including:

• Domain registrars
• Servers
• Browsers
• Online stores
• Payment gateways
• Ad platforms

In this way, we can track your case in a friendly and extrajudicial manner until its resolution, achieving up to 80% success in reducing complaints and 99% success in takedowns of these incidents.

Contact our team and find out how we can enhance the protection of your digital presence!