Phishing & Social Engineering Guide (2026)

Phishing is a social engineering attack where an attacker impersonates a trusted entity (company, colleague, bank) to trick you into revealing sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or 2FA codes. It's the most common cyber attack vector.

Don't panic. (1) Disconnect from the internet immediately, (2) Change the password for the affected account from a different device, (3) Enable 2FA if not already active, (4) Run a malware scan, (5) Monitor the account for unauthorized activity, (6) Report the phishing email to your IT department and the impersonated company.

A VPN protects your network traffic but doesn't prevent phishing — phishing relies on tricking you, not intercepting your data. However, some VPN providers include malware/phishing protection features (like NordVPN's Threat Protection) that can block known phishing domains.

Remote workers face unique phishing vectors: fake VPN login pages, impersonation of IT support ('we need to update your remote access'), fake video call links, compromised collaboration tools, and business email compromise where attackers impersonate executives requesting wire transfers.