Check Point Report Q2 2026: Microsoft leads brand phishing, while ChatGPT enters the top 10 most impersonated brands.
A report by Check Point Research for the second quarter of 2026 highlights a high concentration of phishing attacks targeting global technology and social media corporations. While Microsoft remains the most frequently impersonated brand by a significant margin, the analysis records the entry of AI services like ChatGPT into the top ten list for the first time.
According to the findings, 23 percent of all recorded brand phishing attempts in Q2 2026 impersonated Microsoft services. This figure is nearly double that of the second-placed brand. Together with LinkedIn, Google, Apple, and Amazon, the five most targeted brands accounted for more than half of all global attack attempts during the quarter.
Attackers focus heavily on platforms widely used in daily professional and personal routines. The strategy relies on leveraging user trust in established service providers. Because notifications from these companies are common in daily workflows, users are less likely to thoroughly verify senders and message details.
By sector, technology experienced the highest volume of impersonation attempts, followed by social networks and banking. These industries primarily manage identity data, professional networks, and financial accounts.
For the first time, OpenAI’s ChatGPT appeared among the ten most impersonated brands. Cybercriminals are adjusting their tactics to match the growing adoption of AI tools in corporate and personal environments.
Documented cases included fraudulent subscription billing notices. In one instance from June 2026, users received fake payment failure alerts designed to lead them to pages crafted to harvest credit card information.
The Q2 2026 analysis documented several distinct attack methods:
- E-Commerce Clones: Full replicas of online stores, including cart and checkout functionality.
- Unfamiliar Regional Sites: Lookalike storefronts created for geographic markets where the official brand does not operate.
- Malicious Updates: Fake support pages offering security updates that instead deliver executable malware files.
- Credential Harvesting Pages: Replicated cloud service login interfaces presented in various languages to capture user credentials.
Common indicators of phishing attempts include urgent language regarding account suspensions or billing errors. Visual flaws—such as distorted logos, non-functional buttons, or dead social media links—also frequently occur. Additionally, the domains used in these campaigns rarely match the official web addresses of the respective brands.
Mitigating brand phishing risks requires a combination of technical controls and security practices. Integrated email security solutions aim to block malicious messages before delivery, while AI-driven detection helps identify credential harvesting and domain cloning. Organizations also employ continuous monitoring to detect and remove unauthorized lookalike sites, while individual safety measures rely on manual URL verification and multi-factor authentication.
Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de