How fake support sites and emails exploit trust, and what every employee can do right now to stay sharp.

💡 “Do you need help?”

In a world where most employees already know how to spot suspicious links and fake bank emails, and where security tools do a decent job filtering malicious content, attackers don’t give up. They simply adapt. Modern phishing doesn’t just ask you to “click here”, it offers to help you.

While our systems are busy protecting us from dangerous links and malware attachments, our employees remain exposed, especially when the attack comes in the form of a seemingly innocent human interaction.

The attack no one suspects: fake helpdesk sites + legitimate-looking emails.

According to a recent report by GBHackers, a new phishing technique is gaining traction: Attackers create fake IT helpdesk websites that visually mimic the internal support portal of the targeted company. For instance, a company named MyCompany.com might be impersonated by a fake site like MyCompany-HelpDesk.com, carefully styled with logos and branding that look identical to the original. Employees and vendors receive professional-looking emails or phone calls inviting them to visit this helpdesk site, where they're asked to submit login credentials, financial data, or install malicious remote access software.

When “phishing” sounds like a real support call, it often starts with a harmless email: “Your invoice is ready.” “Subscription issue detected.” “Update required.” No links. No attachments. No obvious red flags. Instead, it offers a legitimate-looking support portal and a phone number to “resolve the issue.” And that’s where a responsible employee picks up the phone… and calls the attacker.

Why does it work?

The victim initiates the contact. And everything looks completely normal. This is what makes the attack so dangerous; it bypasses technical security controls and walks right through the human trust gate.

So what can we do?

Turn every suspicious prompt into a training moment:

• Pause before you dial: Verify the number through your company directory, not the email or poster.
• Question every ask: Does this really come from IT? Check with a colleague or your internal chat.
• Treat every failure as a lesson: When you slip up, get immediate feedback, learn and teach the red flags, then get back to work.
• Practice makes instinct: Regularly run through mock “helpdesk” scenarios, so you’ll know the moment the call is fake.

Real security means staying ready - in every channel, every day. If you still haven't seen the CybeReady platform in action, we invite you to schedule a short call and see how we’ve built these exact drills into our ongoing training program so your team learns to trust their instincts before the attacker does. https://cybeready.com/request-a-demo-2