The Top 10 Types of Phishing Attacks UK Businesses Must Recognise in 2026

Phishing is no longer just about suspicious emails with glaring spelling mistakes. Today’s cybercriminals deploy a sophisticated and ever-evolving arsenal of techniques designed to exploit human trust and bypass traditional security measures. For small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the UK, understanding the different types of phishing attacks is the first critical step towards building a resilient defence. A single, ill-advised click on a malicious link can rapidly escalate into a catastrophic data breach, severe financial loss, and significant, long-lasting reputational damage.

This comprehensive guide moves beyond generic advice to provide a detailed breakdown of the 10 most prevalent phishing methods targeting businesses today. We will dissect each attack vector, offering clear definitions, real-world examples, and crucial technical insights. To truly grasp the breadth of modern phishing, it's fundamental to understand what is a phishing website and how these deceptive sites operate at the heart of many campaigns.

Our goal is to equip you with actionable strategies to safeguard your organisation. We'll explore everything from broad-stroke email campaigns and deceptive text messages to highly targeted executive fraud and complex DNS manipulation. By the end of this article, you will have a clear framework for recognising threats, implementing effective security policies, and selecting the right tools, ultimately turning your team from a potential vulnerability into your strongest line of defence.

1. Email Phishing

Email phishing, often called "deceptive phishing," is the most prevalent and foundational of all types of phishing attacks. Attackers send fraudulent emails that appear to come from a reputable source, such as a bank, a well-known company, or even a government agency. The primary goal is to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading an infected attachment, or disclosing sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), these attacks often target employees with access to financial systems or customer data, making them a significant threat.

Real-World Examples

A notable 2023 campaign saw attackers impersonating HMRC, sending fake tax refund emails to UK SMBs to steal their banking credentials. Similarly, widespread Office 365 phishing campaigns trick employees into entering their login details on a fake Microsoft portal, giving criminals access to company email accounts and sensitive data. Impersonations of popular services like PayPal and Amazon are also common, directing users to counterfeit login pages designed to harvest credentials.

Key Insight: The success of email phishing hinges on its ability to mimic legitimate communication flawlessly. Attackers exploit trust and a sense of urgency to bypass a person's natural scepticism.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Protecting your organisation from email phishing requires a layered defence combining technical controls and employee awareness. It's crucial to implement robust strategies to protect against phishing and secure your primary communication channel.

Actionable Steps:

• Implement Email Authentication: Configure DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records for your domain. These protocols help verify that an email is genuinely from your organisation, making it harder for attackers to spoof your domain.
• Deploy Advanced Email Filtering: Use an email security gateway that employs machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyse incoming emails for suspicious links, language patterns, and sender reputations.
• Conduct Regular Staff Training: Organise mandatory, ongoing security awareness training that includes phishing simulations. This teaches employees to spot red flags like suspicious sender addresses, urgent requests, and grammatical errors.
• Establish Clear Reporting Procedures: Create a simple, well-communicated process for employees to report suspicious emails, such as forwarding them to a dedicated IT security inbox for analysis.

2. Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is a highly targeted and personalised form of phishing attack. Unlike broad email phishing campaigns, attackers meticulously research specific individuals or small groups within an organisation, such as executives, finance managers, or IT administrators. They use publicly available information from social media, company websites, and industry news to craft convincing messages that appear legitimate and highly relevant to the target's role. This personalisation makes spear phishing one of the more dangerous types of phishing attacks for SMBs, as it's designed to bypass standard security filters and human suspicion.

Real-World Examples

A notable 2022 attack campaign saw criminals targeting CFOs at UK accountancy firms with fraudulent, yet highly specific, invoice requests that mimicked real supplier communications. In another scenario, IT managers overseeing cloud migration projects received fake emails from supposed vendors, requesting credentials for project management portals. Perhaps the most common example is CEO fraud, where an attacker impersonates a senior executive to pressure a finance team member into making an urgent, unauthorised wire transfer.

Key Insight: Spear phishing succeeds by exploiting specific knowledge about the target. The attacker leverages details about the victim's job, relationships, and current projects to create a powerful illusion of authenticity.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Defending against such a calculated threat requires more than just standard email filters; it demands targeted controls and heightened employee vigilance. A robust defence is built on procedural safeguards and continuous education, especially for high-value targets. Enhancing your team's ability to spot these attacks is a core component of effective cybersecurity training for employees.

Actionable Steps:

• Verify Unusual Requests: Mandate that employees verify any requests for sensitive information or financial transactions through a secondary communication channel, such as a direct phone call or in-person conversation.
• Implement Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC): Limit employee access to sensitive data and financial systems to only what is absolutely necessary for their job. This minimises the potential damage if an account is compromised.
• Conduct Specialised Training: Organise targeted training sessions for high-risk individuals like executives and finance staff. These sessions should focus on the specific tactics used in spear phishing and CEO fraud.
• Establish Multi-Factor Approval Workflows: Implement policies requiring that all significant financial transactions or data access changes be approved by at least two authorised individuals.

3. Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a highly sophisticated and financially devastating form of spear phishing. Unlike broad, generic attacks, BEC is a targeted scam where criminals impersonate senior executives or trusted vendors to trick an employee into making an unauthorised wire transfer, changing payment details, or disclosing sensitive company data. These attacks rely on social engineering rather than malicious links or attachments, making them incredibly difficult for traditional security filters to detect. For SMBs, where financial controls may be less rigid, a successful BEC attack can be catastrophic.

Real-World Examples

BEC attacks are alarmingly common and effective. In one 2023 case, a UK-based manufacturing SMB lost £250,000 after an employee received a fraudulent wire transfer request from an email address impersonating the CEO. Another frequent tactic involves attackers posing as a known IT vendor, sending a seemingly legitimate invoice with updated bank details to divert payment. Criminals also use fake CEO requests to trick HR departments into sending payroll data, which is then used for identity theft and further fraud.

Key Insight: BEC exploits human psychology and existing business hierarchies. The perceived authority of a CEO or the routine nature of an invoice payment causes employees to lower their guard and bypass standard procedures.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Combating BEC requires a focus on process and verification, supplementing technical controls. Since these emails often contain no malware, the primary defence is a vigilant and well-trained workforce supported by robust financial policies. Implementing comprehensive email security solutions is essential to create a resilient defence against these convincing scams.

Actionable Steps:

• Implement Strict Payment Verification: Require multi-person approval for any wire transfers or changes to payment details. Critically, use a secondary, out-of-band communication method (like a phone call to a known number) to confirm all such requests.
• Enforce Email Authentication: Just like with general phishing, configure DMARC, SPF, and DKIM to prevent attackers from successfully spoofing your company's domain and impersonating executives.
• Train Employees on BEC Tactics: Conduct specific training that focuses on the social engineering tactics used in BEC. Use real-world examples to show how attackers create a sense of urgency and authority.
• Monitor Email Account Rules: Regularly audit email accounts for unusual forwarding rules or delegated access permissions, as these can be signs that an account has been compromised and is being monitored by an attacker.

4. Whaling (CEO Fraud)

Whaling is a highly targeted form of spear phishing aimed at senior executives, often referred to as "CEO fraud." Unlike broad phishing campaigns, whaling attackers meticulously research their targets, such as a company's CEO, CFO, or other C-suite members. They craft highly personalised and convincing emails, impersonating another high-level executive or a trusted external party to manipulate the victim into performing a specific action, such as authorising a large wire transfer or releasing confidential data. The success of these types of phishing attacks relies on exploiting the authority and perceived urgency of executive communications.

Real-World Examples

A well-documented 2022 attack saw the CEO of a UK construction firm tricked into transferring £1.2 million after receiving a fraudulent email impersonating a trusted financial partner. In other common scenarios, attackers pose as external auditors requesting sensitive financial reports or as the company's chairman demanding employee data for a confidential "due diligence" process. These examples highlight how attackers leverage executive-level business context to make their requests seem plausible and urgent.

Key Insight: Whaling succeeds by bypassing technical defences and targeting human psychology. It exploits the ingrained respect for authority and the fast-paced nature of executive decision-making.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Protecting against whaling requires specialised controls beyond standard email filtering, focusing on process verification and executive-specific training. For SMBs, where executives are often more directly involved in financial transactions, these measures are critical to prevent catastrophic losses.

Actionable Steps:

• Establish Out-of-Band Verification: Mandate that any request for wire transfers or sensitive data disclosure made via email must be verified through a secondary channel, such as a direct phone call or in-person conversation.
• Implement Dual Approval Policies: Require at least two authorised individuals to sign off on any financial transaction above a certain threshold, regardless of who initiated the request. This removes the risk of a single point of failure.
• Conduct Executive-Specific Training: Provide tailored security awareness training for senior leadership that focuses on the social engineering tactics used in whaling and CEO fraud.
• Use Visual Email Banners: Configure your email system to display prominent external email warning banners. This provides an immediate visual cue that a message originated from outside the organisation, even if the sender's name appears familiar.

5. Clone Phishing

Clone phishing is a sophisticated attack where criminals take a legitimate, previously delivered email and create an almost identical copy, or "clone." They then replace a link or an attached file with a malicious version. The email is resent from an email address spoofed to look like the original sender, often with an explanation that the first link or file was incorrect. This method is particularly dangerous as it leverages the victim's familiarity with and trust in the original communication, making it one of the more subtle types of phishing attacks.

Real-World Examples

A common scenario involves cloning a genuine invoice email from a known supplier. The attacker resends the email, perhaps with a note like "Updated invoice attached," but the new attachment is a malicious file designed to deploy ransomware. Another example is a cloned OneDrive or SharePoint sharing notification. An employee receives a familiar-looking link to a shared document, but the link directs them to a credential-harvesting site designed to steal their Microsoft 365 login details.

Key Insight: Clone phishing preys on an established context of trust. Because the email looks and feels like a legitimate follow-up, victims are far less likely to scrutinise its contents.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Countering clone phishing requires a combination of technical safeguards that can spot subtle forgeries and employee training focused on verifying unexpected updates to existing conversations. Since these emails often bypass basic spam filters, more advanced measures are essential.

Actionable Steps:

• Verify Unexpected Updates: Train employees to be cautious of emails claiming to be a "correction" or "update" to a previous message. Encourage them to verify the request through a separate communication channel, like a phone call to the supposed sender.
• Inspect Email Headers: Teach IT staff to analyse email headers for authentication failures. Cloned emails often fail SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checks, which are clear indicators of a spoofed sender.
• Implement URL Sandboxing: Use an email security solution that includes URL sandboxing and link rewriting. This technology automatically tests links in a safe, isolated environment at the time of the click to ensure they do not lead to malicious sites.
• Scrutinise Sender Details: Encourage staff to carefully check the sender's email address for slight variations or discrepancies, even if the display name looks correct. A cloned email might come from a very similar, but not identical, domain.

6. Vishing (Voice Phishing)

Vishing, or voice phishing, is one of the more personal types of phishing attacks, where criminals use telephone calls to manipulate victims into divulging sensitive information. Attackers often impersonate trusted entities like banks, IT support staff, or government bodies such as HMRC. The goal is to create a sense of urgency or fear, pressuring the target to provide passwords, financial details, or even grant remote access to their computer. For SMBs, vishing is particularly dangerous as it bypasses many technical email filters and exploits the human element directly.

Real-World Examples

A common vishing scam involves an attacker posing as a representative from Microsoft or your company's IT helpdesk. They claim to have detected a virus on the employee's computer and request their login credentials or ask them to install remote access software. Another prevalent tactic involves impersonating a bank's fraud department, alerting the victim to "suspicious activity" on their account and asking them to confirm card details and one-time passcodes to "secure" it.

Key Insight: Vishing thrives on social engineering, using a direct, human conversation to build false trust and urgency, which can make even tech-savvy individuals second-guess their security protocols.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Combating vishing requires a strong emphasis on staff training and the establishment of strict internal communication and verification protocols. Since technology alone cannot block a deceptive phone call, empowering employees is the most effective defence.

Actionable Steps:

• Establish a Verification Protocol: Instruct employees to never provide sensitive data over an inbound call. Instead, they should hang up, find the organisation's official phone number independently (e.g., from the company website or an official document), and call back to verify the request.
• Train Staff on Social Engineering: Conduct regular training sessions that teach employees to recognise vishing tactics, such as high-pressure language, unexpected requests for credentials, and threats of negative consequences.
• Use Internal Ticketing Systems: Mandate that all internal IT support requests are managed through a dedicated, official ticketing system. This ensures that any out-of-the-blue calls claiming to be from IT support are immediately identifiable as suspicious.
• Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enforce MFA across all critical systems. Even if an attacker successfully obtains a password through vishing, MFA provides an essential second barrier to prevent unauthorised access.

7. Smishing (SMS Phishing)

Smishing, a portmanteau of "SMS" and "phishing," is a rapidly growing type of phishing attack delivered via text messages. Attackers send fraudulent SMS messages designed to trick recipients into clicking malicious links, downloading malware, or revealing personal information. As businesses increasingly rely on mobile devices for daily operations, smishing poses a significant threat to SMBs, turning an employee's personal or company phone into a direct entry point for attackers. The messages often create a powerful sense of urgency by impersonating trusted entities and citing issues like failed deliveries, account security alerts, or urgent verification requests.

Real-World Examples

A common smishing campaign involves fake delivery notifications from services like Royal Mail or DPD, where a text message claims a parcel could not be delivered and provides a link to reschedule. This link leads to a phishing site designed to steal payment details or personal information. Another prevalent example is a fake alert from a bank, such as HSBC or Barclays, stating that a suspicious payment has been detected on the user's account and instructing them to click a link to cancel it, which leads to a counterfeit banking portal that harvests login credentials.

Key Insight: Smishing exploits the inherent trust people place in text messages. The personal and immediate nature of SMS communication often lowers a person's defences, making them more likely to react quickly without proper scrutiny.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Protecting your business from smishing requires a combination of technology controls on mobile devices and robust employee education. Since these attacks target devices that often bridge personal and professional use, a clear policy is essential.

Actionable Steps:

• Establish a Mobile Device Policy: Implement a clear policy for employees using personal or company-owned devices for work. This should include rules against clicking links from unknown or unsolicited text messages.
• Deploy Mobile Device Management (MDM): Use an MDM solution to enforce security settings on company devices. This can include features like web filtering to block access to known malicious sites and restricting the installation of unapproved applications.
• Train Staff to Verify Independently: Teach employees to never respond directly to or click links in suspicious text messages. Instead, they should independently verify the request by contacting the organisation through an official website or phone number found on a statement or their website, not one provided in the message.
• Encourage Reporting: Create a simple process for employees to report smishing attempts to the IT department. This helps track threats targeting your organisation and allows you to warn other staff members.

8. Watering Hole Attack

A watering hole attack is one of the more strategic types of phishing attacks, where criminals compromise a legitimate website frequently visited by a specific target group. Instead of attacking individuals directly, they infect a trusted online "watering hole" like an industry forum, a professional association website, or a shared cloud service provider portal. When employees from the target SMBs visit the site, they are unknowingly exposed to malware or credential-stealing scripts, allowing attackers to breach multiple organisations efficiently.

Real-World Examples

A real-world campaign saw attackers inject malicious code into a popular UK accounting software forum, aiming to distribute malware to accountants and financial professionals visiting for advice. Another example involved the compromise of an industry association website for financial services, which was used to redirect visiting SMB employees to a credential harvesting page. These attacks exploit the implicit trust users have in niche, industry-specific websites.

Key Insight: Watering hole attacks succeed by turning a trusted resource into a weapon. They rely on the victim's routine behaviour rather than a deceptive lure, making them difficult to detect without technical safeguards.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Defending against watering hole attacks requires proactive security measures that protect endpoints and monitor network traffic for signs of compromise. A swift response is vital, and having a well-defined process is critical to containing the damage. Building a robust cyber incident response plan ensures your team can act decisively when an infection is detected.

Actionable Steps:

• Implement Endpoint Protection (EDR): Deploy an Endpoint Detection and Response solution. EDR tools can identify and block malicious processes that execute after a user visits a compromised site.
• Monitor Web Traffic: Use network monitoring tools and DNS filtering to detect and block connections to known malicious domains or anomalous outbound traffic patterns.
• Maintain Software Patching: Keep all operating systems, browsers, and third-party plugins fully updated. Attackers often exploit known vulnerabilities in this software to deliver their payload.
• Restrict Browser Extensions: Enforce a policy that only allows approved and essential browser plugins and extensions, as these can be a common vector for attack.

9. Pharming (DNS Poisoning Phishing)

Pharming is one of the more technically sophisticated types of phishing attacks, redirecting users to a fraudulent website even if they type the correct URL into their browser. Instead of luring a user with a fake link, attackers corrupt the Domain Name System (DNS) process. This is done either by compromising a DNS server or by modifying the "hosts" file on a victim's computer, causing the browser to resolve a legitimate domain name (like yourbank.co.uk) to a malicious IP address controlled by the attacker. For SMBs, an attack on their network DNS resolver could redirect dozens of employees to fake sites simultaneously without any single suspicious email.

Real-World Examples

In a notable 2022 incident, attackers compromised the DNS servers of a UK-based Internet Service Provider (ISP), redirecting customers attempting to access online banking portals to counterfeit login pages. Another common scenario involves host file manipulation on corporate networks; a single infected workstation can have its local DNS mapping altered, sending the user to fake versions of internal or cloud-based services to harvest credentials. These attacks are particularly dangerous because the URL in the browser's address bar appears legitimate, bypassing a common user-verification step.

Key Insight: Pharming bypasses the user's direct action as the point of failure. It corrupts the very infrastructure of internet navigation, making it incredibly difficult for an untrained user to detect.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Combating pharming requires securing the DNS resolution process at both the network and endpoint levels. Since it operates silently in the background, technical controls are more effective than relying solely on user vigilance.

Actionable Steps:

• Implement DNSSEC: Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) should be enabled on your domains. It uses digital signatures to verify that DNS data is authentic and has not been tampered with, preventing attackers from successfully poisoning the records.
• Use Reputable DNS Resolvers: Switch to a trusted, secure DNS service that offers built-in protection against DNS poisoning and DDoS attacks. Services like Cisco Umbrella or Cloudflare DNS often provide advanced threat intelligence.
• Monitor DNS Queries: Use network monitoring tools to look for anomalies in DNS traffic, such as an unusual volume of requests or traffic being redirected to unrecognised IP addresses.
• Educate Staff on Certificate Verification: Train employees to always check for a valid SSL/TLS certificate (the padlock icon) and to be wary if their browser displays a certificate warning, even if the URL looks correct.

10. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Poisoning

Search engine optimisation (SEO) poisoning is one of the more insidious types of phishing attacks, where criminals manipulate search engine results to promote malicious websites. These sites are designed to look legitimate, often appearing high in search rankings for common business queries. The goal is to deceive users searching for software, support portals, or services into clicking a malicious link that leads to a fake login page or a malware download. SMBs are particularly vulnerable, as employees often use search engines to find official sites for cloud services, accounting software, or IT support tools.

Real-World Examples

Recent campaigns have shown attackers creating fake Microsoft 365 login pages that rank high for terms like "Office 365 login" or "Outlook web access". Unsuspecting employees click the top result, enter their credentials, and compromise their accounts. Similarly, malicious sites offering downloads for popular business software like Adobe Acrobat or remote support tools have appeared in paid and organic search results, tricking users into installing ransomware or spyware instead of the legitimate application.

Key Insight: SEO poisoning weaponises trust in major search engines like Google. Attackers exploit our reliance on search results to present their malicious sites as credible and authoritative sources.

Detection and Mitigation for SMBs

Combating SEO poisoning involves fostering a culture of caution and implementing technical safeguards that reduce reliance on public search results for critical services. It's vital to train employees to be discerning about where they click, even when a link comes from a trusted search engine.

Actionable Steps:

• Use Bookmarks for Critical Sites: Instruct employees to bookmark the official URLs for frequently accessed services like banking portals, cloud platforms (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), and CRM systems. This bypasses the need to search for them.
• Scrutinise Search Results: Train staff to verify the domain name in the URL before clicking. They should look for subtle misspellings (e.g., "microsft" instead of "microsoft") and ensure the site uses a secure HTTPS connection.
• Deploy Web Filtering Solutions: Use a web security gateway or DNS filtering service that blocks access to known malicious websites. These tools can prevent an employee from reaching a poisoned site even if they click a dangerous link.
• Promote Direct Navigation: Encourage a policy of navigating directly to known websites by typing the URL into the address bar, especially for sensitive accounts, rather than relying on search engine links.

10 Phishing Attack Types Comparison

Building Your Defence: Proactive Steps for a Secure Future

Having navigated the diverse and often treacherous landscape of phishing, from the broad nets of general email phishing to the highly targeted spears of whaling and BEC, one truth becomes abundantly clear: awareness is the first, but not the only, line of defence. Understanding the different types of phishing attacks is crucial, but true resilience is forged by transforming that knowledge into a proactive, multi-layered security strategy. The goal is not just to react to threats but to build an organisational culture and technological framework that anticipates and neutralises them before they can inflict damage.

The common thread weaving through all these attack vectors, whether it's the audio manipulation of vishing or the technical misdirection of pharming, is the exploitation of human trust. Attackers are not just hacking systems; they are hacking people. This is why a defence strategy focused solely on technology is destined to fail. While advanced email filters, DNS protection, and endpoint security are non-negotiable components, they must be reinforced by human intelligence and procedural rigour.

Key Pillars of a Modern Phishing Defence

To effectively counter the threats discussed, your strategy must integrate three core pillars: Technology, Policy, and People.

• Technology as the First Barrier: Implement and continuously optimise your technical controls. This includes advanced spam and phishing filters that use machine learning to detect suspicious links and attachments, robust endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions on all devices, and DNS filtering services to block access to known malicious sites before a connection is even established. Think of these tools as your digital sentinels, providing automated, round-the-clock surveillance.

• Policy as the Organisational Rulebook: Your policies translate security theory into daily practice. A mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) policy, for instance, is one of the single most effective measures against credential theft. Similarly, establishing a strict, out-of-band verification process for any financial transaction or sensitive data request is essential to thwarting BEC and whaling attacks. Your policies should be clear, concise, and consistently enforced, leaving no room for ambiguity when an employee is under pressure.

• People as the Ultimate Human Firewall: An empowered and educated workforce is your most dynamic security asset. Regular, engaging, and relevant training is paramount. Move beyond annual box-ticking exercises and implement a continuous education programme. This should include simulated phishing campaigns that provide immediate, practical feedback, helping employees build the muscle memory needed to spot and report suspicious communications instinctively. When your team knows precisely what to look for and what to do when they see it, they transition from potential targets to active defenders.

Key Takeaway: A successful defence is not a single product you can buy but a holistic ecosystem you must build. It's the seamless integration of vigilant technology, clear-cut policies, and an educated, security-conscious team that creates a truly formidable barrier against the many types of phishing attacks.

Ultimately, protecting your organisation is a continuous process of adaptation and improvement. The threat landscape evolves, and so too must your defences. A fundamental aspect of proactive defence against phishing attacks involves comprehensive cyber security risk management, which helps you identify your unique vulnerabilities and prioritise your security investments effectively. By committing to this layered approach, you not only shield your business from financial loss and reputational harm but also cultivate a secure environment where your team can operate with confidence and focus on what they do best.

Ready to move from awareness to action? For UK SMBs seeking expert guidance and robust technological implementation, HGC IT Solutions provides comprehensive managed IT and cybersecurity services. We specialise in building layered defences that protect you from the full spectrum of phishing threats, combining advanced tools with practical training and policy development. Visit HGC IT Solutions to learn how we can fortify your business against cyber attacks.