Email threat landscape: Q3 2026 trends and insights
Microsoft Threat Intelligence observed a sharp rise in email-based phishing activity at the end of Q3 2026 (July – September), even as QR code phishing declined, CAPTCHA-gated phishing recovered, and malicious messages spoofing familiar business-service sender domains exposed risks associated with security overrides.
Excerpt from the primary source: Microsoft Security Blog & MSRC
Who is affected
Home users · Security professionals
What you should do · Be aware
No immediate action is required, but be alert to related scams or suspicious messages.
Automated guidance based on this story's classification. Check the linked advisories for specifics.
Sources
We link to original and authoritative sources. Headlines and excerpts belong to their publishers.
Vendor advisory
Related
Bank Phishing Sites Show Fake ‘Suspended’ Pages to Evade Takedowns
More than 200 sites were seen serving phishing content to first-time visitors but not to those who revisit.
Ukraine fires two senior security officials amid corruption probe into scam call centers
Ukraine's security service has fired two senior officials amid a corruption investigation into an alleged criminal network that bribed law enforcement officers to protect fraudulent call centers and other illegal operations.
Germany Busts 'Crime-as-a-Service' Investment Fraud Outfit
German police led a multinational probe that exposed an alleged crime-as-a-service provider supplying fraudulent trading platforms to investment scammers.
Police seizes over 100 servers in investment scam crackdown
European law enforcement authorities arrested seven suspects and seized more than 100 servers in a joint action targeting an unnamed company suspected of providing fraudulent trading websites to criminal gangs.