If you’ve spent any time online, you’re probably no stranger to online scams.
They come in many forms, with some being a bit more intricate or common than others.
In some cases, just one wrong click could compromise your computer and personal information.
Phishing email scams tend to be one of the most well-known, and there are roughly 3.4 billion phishing emails sent out every single day.
These scams can be avoided with a little know-how, but that won’t stop their onslaught on your email inbox.
This article will highlight various statistics about phishing emails and why they’ve become such a consistent problem over the years.
How Many Phishing Emails Are Sent Daily in 2024?
Key Statistics
- 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent daily
- Roughly 100 million phishing scams are blocked by Google every day
- 94% of cyber attacks start with email scams
- Around ⅕ of phishing emails come from Russia
- Nearly half of all emails sent in 2021 were phishing emails
- Stolen credentials are the most common factor that leads to data breaches
Phishing Email Statistics You Need To Know
Although phishing scams come in many forms, there’s a good chance you’ll find them in your email more than anywhere else.
Sometimes they’re quite obvious, and in other circumstances, they can be pretty clever.
Even if phishing emails aren’t a new scam, people still fall for them every day.
You’d be pretty surprised to learn just how much damage phishing emails cause every year.
The statistics in this article will focus on important statistics that could help you be more aware of the scam and protect your personal information moving forward.
1. The Most Common Cyber Attack
When it comes to the internet, cyber attacks seem to be more frequent nowadays.
It’s more vital than ever to protect your information online, and phishing emails are making that increasingly difficult.
Statistics show that roughly 94% of all cyber attacks start with emails.
Not only is this one of the easiest ways to reach a mass number of people, but many individuals fall for these scams.
Phishing email scams are generally coupled with malware, which can be easily hidden from the naked eye.
Around 45% of malware is found if Office document files and about 26% of these scams are coupled with Windows applications.
Although emails are still one of the most persistent forms of phishing scams, they’re also commonly found in video conferencing channels, messaging channels, and even file sharing through the cloud.
If you aren’t careful, all it takes is one too many clicks, and your personal data can be stolen.
2. Daily Number of Phishing Emails
Phishing scams may be more of an issue in some countries than others, but phishing emails still come with a staggering global statistic.
Around 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent every day.
You can only imagine what number of people end up falling for these scams.
Those who aren’t too concerned with cyber security are more susceptible to such scams.
Regardless of how you protect yourself, you’re still bound to come in contact with the scam on more than one occasion.
On a yearly basis, well over a trillion phishing emails are being sent out.
Essentially, it’s a relentless scam that won’t be going away any time soon, and it continues to trick millions into handing over certain bits of their credentials.
The ramifications of making this mistake can span from minor to much more significant.
Overall, it’s best to pay close attention to your security measures and navigate your emails with a bit of caution.
3. Smarter Phishing Scams
In a report from 2022 that surveyed 1,400 organizations, it highlighted that phishing scams are more clever than they’ve ever been.
Around 80% of participants in this report were fearful that they would eventually encounter a cyber attack via email.
Roughly 96% of them actually reported a phishing attack within the last year, which goes to show how common this scam really is.
Organizations look into some of the best cyber security measures possible, and many of them still end up suffering from phishing attacks.
It doesn’t take much to get caught in this trap. All it takes is for somebody to make a mistake, and the whole organization can be compromised.
Interestingly, 52% of organizations in this report have noticed that phishing scams are becoming more intricate.
It really takes some intuition and a watchful eye to avoid phishing emails.
The variance in these attacks is becoming more unique at every turn, making it more difficult to discern what’s real and fake.
In many cases, the sender’s email, template, and text can all look like it’s from an official organization or even someone you know.
4. Most Common Types of Phishing Emails
With most phishing emails, they come in the form of something that’s recognizable to a wide audience.
The emails generally resemble something that looks trustworthy, which is why so many people still interact with them.
Unfortunately, these same people realize they made a mistake only after it’s too late.
Statistics show us that there are a handful of phishing emails that tend to trick people the most.
One of the most frequent types of phishing emails is disguised as LinkedIn.
Over 50% of phishing attacks via email are imitating LinkedIn.
Sometimes they can look like normal notifications or a senior staff member requesting personal information.
Other popular types of phishing emails generally imitate businesses like Facebook and Twitter.
The trend here is that most phishing emails will imitate something you’re used to interacting with.
Many people won’t question an email from these companies, especially if it looks official from top to bottom.
Year after year, social media phishing emails continue to be some of the most common, and this number is only increasing as time goes on.
5. Gmail Does Its Best to Protect Us
There are nearly 2 billion people that use Gmail’s services, which makes it a hot target for phishing scams.
However, Google does its best to block these scams from ever landing in your inbox.
On a daily basis, Gmail blocks around 100 million phishing emails.
There are many phishing emails that still make it through, but this has saved many people from making the mistake of clicking on one of these scams.
Gmail is known for its multi-layered security protections, which help people protect their personal information from multiple angles.
Scammers won’t stop trying to take advantage of people, but technology can help us protect ourselves at every turn.
It’s important to note that even though Gmail offers many ways to protect your account, it’s always vital to navigate emails with due diligence.
You never know when a phishing email will make its way through.
If you come across an email that doesn’t seem common or something about it seems off at all, there’s a good chance that it could be a scam.
Always thoroughly review strange emails before ever clicking on anything at all.
6. The Primary Cause of Data Breaches
Most people know what phishing scams are, but many of them don’t know their information has been compromised until a data breach is announced.
Considering numerous companies handle our data, we usually only hear about a data breach once the company announces it.
Once you learn of a data breach, it’s vital that you cover all of your bases and review the accounts in question.
Phishing scams are the cause of roughly 90% of all data breaches.
This is also becoming a more common issue, as numerous data breaches are announced by various companies every year.
Many people get upset at these companies, and rightfully so, but it’s important to remember it only takes a minor slip-up to make this mistake.
Even with multi-layered security measures, a single misstep from an employee can compromise the data of everyone involved.
Nevertheless, companies and individuals alike continue to battle phishing emails and protect themselves as best as possible.
Statistics on Email Users
One reason phishing emails are such a problem in today’s world is due to the fact that billions of people use their email every day.
Many years ago, emailing may not have been as common, but that isn’t the case anymore.
This is why scammers take a relentless approach with phishing emails, as there’s the potential to reach billions of people.
There are a few user statistics that’ll provide some more clarity on how prevalent email is in today’s world.
1. How Many Emails Per Day Per User?
This number is bound to vary based on the type of user, but on average, around 126 emails are sent or received by each user on a daily basis.
You can assume that some of these might be phishing emails.
Although there are different ways to communicate in our modern era, many businesses and individuals prefer to use email.
Emails continue to be quite relevant as they’re integrated with many different accounts and integrations online.
When you consider how active our inboxes are on any given day, it can be easy to make the mistake of clicking on the wrong email.
Some phishing scams are much more apparent than others, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.
2. Daily Emails Sent and Received Globally
If you thought over 100 emails per day for each user was a lot, this statistic might make your jaw drop.
Roughly over 333 billion emails are sent or received every day on a global scale.
This is another good look at why scammers are so persistent with phishing emails.
The potential reach is vast, and many people will continue to fall for these scams.
To offer more perspective on the scale of this statistic, it breaks down to about 3.5 million emails every second.
It’s estimated that by 2025, around 376 billion emails will be sent on a daily basis.
So unfortunately, phishing emails won’t be going anywhere any time soon, and they’ll only become more difficult to avoid if we aren’t paying close attention.
It’s also important to highlight that although Gmail offers plenty of protection, other email services may not offer as much protection.
Gmail may be the option of choice for many people all over the world, but phishing emails find their way into any inbox they can find, regardless of the service provider.
3. Who is the Primary Target for Phishing Emails?
Stats show us that Gen-Z and Millenial users are the most susceptible to falling for phishing email scams.
You might think that older generations would fall for these scams more often, but they tend to generally be warier than the younger crowd.
Many young people navigate the internet with carelessness.
Stats show that around 23% of the American Gen-Z and Millenial population have fallen for a phishing scam in the past.
Just because the internet has become a norm in our everyday lives doesn’t mean we shouldn’t protect ourselves as best as we can.
Other Phishing Statistics That Matter
- A cybercrime is committed roughly every 39 seconds
- Around ¼ of emails from brands include a phishing email
- 96% of criminals online have a primary focus on gathering personal information
- Since Covid-19, cybercrime has increased by about 300%
- 650% of emails in March 2020 used Covid-19 as a mask
- The most imitated brand for phishing emails worldwide is DHL
- The value of information theft is around $5.9 million
- Around 43% of cyber attacks go after small businesses
- Mid-sized businesses lost roughly $1.6 million via phishing attacks in 2021
- A majority of successful phishing attacks is caused by human error
In Conclusion
The scale of phishing attacks is quite impressive and daunting at the same time.
Based on the numbers in this article, you can expect phishing emails to continue their attack on essentially everyone’s inboxes.
Of course, you can do plenty to protect yourself, but the best form of security is due diligence.
With how many phishing emails are sent daily, your best bet is to avoid clicking on suspicious mail and don’t rush to click on an email you’re wary about.