AhnLab announced on the 31st that it has released the '2025 Q2 phishing message trend report' containing analysis results of phishing messages detected based on its artificial intelligence (AI) platform from April to June.
According to the report, the most significant type of attack among the phishing messages detected this quarter was 'disguised wedding invitations,' accounting for 28.1% of the total. This figure represents a 1189% increase compared to the previous quarter, attributed to a surge in attacks targeting the spring wedding season.
Attackers inserted URLs disguised as mobile wedding invitations into messages and used methods that hid malicious app installation buttons in images on the page to steal personal information such as contacts from users' mobile phones. The stolen information can be utilized for secondary phishing attacks, necessitating heightened vigilance.
The financial sector accounted for the largest share of impersonation incidents at 15.16%, followed by government and public institutions (4.86%) and logistics (2.03%). The most used method for phishing attempts was the insertion of URLs that lead to phishing sites at 67.37%, followed by mobile messenger inducements (13.10%) and phone inducements (12.65%).
AhnLab emphasized that to prevent damage, individuals must adhere to basic security guidelines such as avoiding clicking on URLs from unclear senders, verifying the reputation of suspicious phone numbers, blocking international text messages, and installing smartphone security products.
Kang Seok-gyun, CEO of AhnLab, noted, 'Phishing message attacks are rapidly evolving according to the season or social issues,' adding, 'By simply adhering to basic security guidelines, a significant portion of the threats can be mitigated.'