Tactic or Technique: Impersonation: Brand

Brand impersonation is a phishing technique where attackers copy the look and feel of trusted companies to make their emails seem legitimate. They recreate logos, colors, templates, and writing styles to mimic well-known brands like Microsoft, Amazon, or PayPal and convince you to trust the message.

They often use lookalike domains to make the links seem real. That could be a small typo, a character swap, or a URL like secure-microsoft[.]com that looks legitimate at first glance. These tricks are meant to get past your defenses and make you more likely to click or respond.

The goal is usually to steal your credentials or convince you to take some kind of action. But over time, these attacks also make it harder to trust what you see in your inbox. Spotting them means looking closely—at the sender address, the way the message is written, and where the links actually go. The differences are subtle, but once you know what to look for, they stand out.