Holidays like Valentine’s Day are a time for romance and celebration, but it’s also prime timing for cybercriminals looking to exploit emotions, urgency, and trust. Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, already at crisis levels, are colliding with a surge in seasonal phishing attacks -- and the result is a perfect storm of cyber fraud.
According to Abnormal Security’s latest bi-annual threat report, BEC attacks have surged by 54% year-over-year, with organizations facing an 88% likelihood of experiencing an attack in any given week in 2024. Meanwhile, KnowBe4’s Threat Research team has observed a 34.8% increase in Valentine’s Day-themed phishing scams compared to February 2023.
As companies struggle to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber deception tactics, attackers are leveraging major cultural moments like Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl to maximize their phishing success rates.
Spoofing and Phishing: The Core of BEC Scams
BEC attacks rely on two key tactics: spoofing and phishing.
Spoofing: The Art of Digital Disguise
Spoofing is a deception technique in which attackers manipulate email addresses, sender names, or phone numbers to impersonate someone trustworthy—whether it’s a company executive, a well-known brand, or even a close colleague.
For example, attackers might impersonate a CFO, instructing an employee to wire funds to a fraudulent account. A single altered letter in an email address or a lookalike domain (such as “amaz0n.com” instead of “amazon.com”) is often enough to trick unsuspecting users.
Phishing: Baiting Victims with Fake Urgency
Phishing goes beyond spoofing by incorporating fraudulent emails, fake websites, and social engineering to steal sensitive information.
These scams often urge recipients to:
✔ Click a link to reset a password
✔ Confirm account details on a cloned login page
✔ Download an attachment that installs malware
Once attackers gain access to an inbox, they can hijack ongoing conversations, deploy ransomware, or manipulate employees into sending money—sometimes without being detected for weeks. Advanced Phishing Techniques: How Cybercriminals Bypass Security
1️⃣ Hyperlink Obfuscation
Many phishing emails hide malicious links inside a single embedded image, making them harder for security tools to scan.
✔ Instead of including text, the entire email is a screenshot of a fake promotional message.
✔ If a user hovers over the image, a malicious link preview appears.
✔ The link is often a typo-squatted domain, such as “mariott.us” instead of “marriott.com.”
Since Microsoft 365’s built-in security tools primarily scan text-based content, these attacks bypass detection and land in users’ inboxes.
2️⃣ CAPTCHA-Based Phishing
To further evade detection, attackers use CAPTCHA pages to block automated security tools from analyzing phishing websites.
✔ Once a user clicks the fake promotional link, they are taken to a CAPTCHA screen.
✔ Security bots cannot proceed past this step, preventing the phishing site from being flagged.
✔ If the victim completes the CAPTCHA, they land on a convincing fake login page designed to steal credentials.
3️⃣ Social Engineering Triggers: Emotion & Urgency
Phishing emails manipulate emotional responses to drive impulsive actions.
🛑 “Your exclusive deal expires in 3 hours!” → Creates a false sense of urgency.
🛑 “Your account has been locked! Click here to restore access.” → Instills fear and pressure.🛑 “Someone sent you a Valentine’s e-card! Click to view.” → Exploits curiosity and romance.
These tactics make users more likely to click without thinking critically—a psychological trick attackers rely on.
How to Protect Yourself from Phishing and BEC Scams
With phishing scams growing in complexity, individuals and organizations must adopt a multi-layered security strategy to stay protected.
✔ Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Even if your password is stolen, MFA can block unauthorized access.
✔ Verify Before Clicking – Never trust an unexpected email. If something seems off, verify with the sender directly.
✔ Hover Over Links – Before clicking, check if the URL is suspicious or misspelled.✔ Train Employees on Phishing Awareness – Regular security training reduces the risk of falling for scams.
✔ Use AI-Powered Anti-Phishing Tools – Machine learning-based security tools can identify phishing tactics that bypass traditional email filters.
✔ Report Suspicious Emails – If you receive a phishing attempt, report it to your IT team or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov.
Final Thoughts: Cybercriminals Are Always Evolving—Are You?
As BEC scams and seasonal phishing attacks surge, businesses and individuals must stay vigilant. Attackers are constantly refining their methods, using AI, social engineering, and psychological manipulation to deceive even the most tech-savvy users.
So whether you’re clicking on a Valentine’s Day offer or responding to an urgent email from your CEO, think before you click—because in today’s cyber landscape, one mistake could cost millions.