Phishing has reached an all-time high, surging 94% year over year, according to data from online broker experts BrokerChooser. The report found that 96% of Americans receive at least one scam email, text or phone call each week, with the U.S. receiving twice as many fraudulent messages as other countries. As cybercrime losses surpassed $20 billion for the first time in 2025, phishing emerged as the leading threat, with 191,561 reports logged during the year.
PayPal topped the list of brands most commonly spoofed by phishing scammers, according to BrokerChooser, with about 38,500 monthly U.S. searches related to scam attempts, including “PayPal scam text” and “PayPal email scam.” The Department of Motor Vehicles ranked second, generating an average of 35,950 monthly U.S. searches related to phishing scams, or 431,400 annually. The United States Postal Service ranked third among the brands most impersonated by phishing scammers, with 25,690 monthly U.S. searches and 308,280 annually.
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Apple stands fourth, with 16,300 average monthly searches in the US – a staggering 195,600 in a year. Venmo comes fifth, with 14,750 average monthly searches related to phishing scams and 177,000 searches annually.
“Phishing works by impersonating organizations you regularly exchange money with – a courier, your bank, or the tax authority — so your guard drops before you have even read the message properly. That is what makes it convincing: the organization is real, but the message is not,” said Adam Nasli, head broker analyst at BrokerChooser.
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“In most cases, it is best not to act on such messages. Leave the text or email untouched and contact the organization directly through its official app, a website address you type in yourself, or the phone number on the back of your card. Then verify whether the request is genuine. On top of this, treat urgency as a warning sign. A legitimate organization will not lose your parcel or freeze your account simply because you took ten minutes to check,” he added.
To avoid falling victim to such scams, experts recommend that people think twice before responding to unsolicited messages, carefully check sender details and website addresses, avoid sharing passwords or making payments through links, and resist pressure to act immediately.