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phishing email

Everything you need to know about phishing emails, from how attackers craft convincing fraudulent messages to how recipients can detect and report them. This tag covers anatomy of phishing emails, common delivery techniques, enterprise email security controls, and user reporting best practices.

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phishing email

Phishing Email Attacks in 2025: What Actually Works

One Phishing Email Cost MGM Resorts $100 Million In September 2023, a single social engineering phone call — preceded by a carefully crafted phishing email reconnaissance campaign — led to the breach that shut down MGM Resorts' operations across Las Vegas. Slot machines went dark. Hotel room keys stopped working. The

Carl B. Johnson Dec 27, 2025 7 min read
phishing email

Phishing Email Attacks: What They Look Like in 2021

In May 2021, a single phishing email led to the shutdown of Colonial Pipeline — the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. The attackers used compromised credentials, likely harvested through a phishing campaign, to deploy ransomware that disrupted fuel supply across the entire East Coast. That one email triggered panic

Carl B. Johnson Aug 18, 2021 7 min read
phishing email

How to Recognize a Phishing Email Before You Click

The Colonial Pipeline Attack Started with a Single Compromised Credential As I write this, Colonial Pipeline is still scrambling to restore fuel delivery to the southeastern United States after a ransomware attack that shut down 5,500 miles of pipeline. The FBI confirmed DarkSide as the threat actor. While the

Carl B. Johnson May 13, 2021 7 min read
phishing email

How to Recognize a Phishing Email Before You Click

One Click Cost This Company $100 Million In 2023, MGM Resorts was brought to its knees — not by a sophisticated zero-day exploit, but by a phone call and a phishing email. Threat actors from the Scattered Spider group used social engineering to gain access, eventually deploying ransomware that disrupted operations

Carl B. Johnson Jan 23, 2020 7 min read