Smaller brands should warn customers about phishing attacks

Iconix profiled 10,000 of their own users for the 6-month study. Iconix offers email authentication to its users, and even with that authentication, research found that almost 20% of phishing messages were still opened.

Surprisingly, the most opened phishing messages from the study were social messages - e-cards, notes from social networks and even dating sites - rather than the traditional financial phishing messages.

Jeff Wilbur, vice president of marketing for Iconix, said, it makes sense that phishers would change to a more social message. "When an email comes from a 'friend' you don't think of that as a problem," he said. Plus, with all of the press that financial phishing scams are getting those scammers have to look elsewhere for targets.

One place phishers are looking for targets, besides social networks, are smaller, regional financial institutions. The larger, national banking chains have done a good job of advising clients about email threats, but the smaller chains, according to Wilbur, have not been as vocal. This has left their brands, and their customers, open for invasion.

No matter what size brand, Wilbur suggests educating customers and using email authentication for marketing messages. "Some people don't open any marketing emails," Wilbur said. By using authentication software, marketers can reassure their clients that emails are secure, reducing the fear of having information stolen.

Tags: email filtering, email marketing, Iconix, phishing, security