Spam email attacks rise 15% globally, Kaspersky reports
Kaspersky telemetry reported that individuals and corporate users in 2025 encountered over 144 million spam emails, which includes scam, phishing, and malware, compared to 125 million in 2024.
Kaspersky’s 2025 report revealed that Asia-Pacific countries had the largest share of email antivirus detections with 30%, followed by Europe at 21%, Latin America at 16%, the Middle East at 15%, Russia and CIS at 12%, and Africa at six-percent.
Meanwhile, China ranked the highest rate in individual countries that had potential spam attachments at 14%. Russia came in second at 11%, followed by Mexico and Spain at 8%, and Turkey at five-percent.
Roman Dedenok, anti-spam expert at Kaspersky, emphasized that email attacks shouldn’t be underestimated. Dedenok added that the commodification of generative AI has amplified attackers to craft phishing messages with minimal effort, adapting tone, language and context to specific targets.
“In 2025, we saw an increase in the sophistication of targeted email attacks. Even the smallest details are meticulously crafted in these malicious campaigns, including the composition of sender addresses and the tailoring of content to real corporate events and processes,” Dedenok said.
He also added that Kaspersky report reveals that one in ten business attacks start with phishing.
Potential key trends in spam emails in 2026
Kaspersky’s annual analysis identified key trends in email spam and phishing threats that are expected to continue in 2026.
The cybersecurity company warned that attackers may lure email users to call fraudulent phone numbers. Attackers may also redirect users by using scam investment mailings to fake websites, which may ask for their contact information.
Kaspersky experts added that common phishing attacks may include phishing URLs and emails acting as legitimate links to trick users into scanning QR codes and clicking scam links. Attackers may also refine their tactics in business emails by incorporating fake forwarded emails.
Staying safe against email scam and phishing
Kaspersky experts recommended individuals to follow precautionary measures against potential phishing messages such as: treating unsolicited invitations from any platform with suspicion, inspecting URLs carefully before clicking, and avoiding calling any phone numbers in suspicious emails.
Meanwhile, the cybersecurity company added that corporate users are recommended to ensure all employee devices should be equipped with security software, and conduct regular training against modern phishing tactics.
Kaspersky has been in the cybersecurity industry since 1997. They are known to develop antivirus software and protect home and business users from malware. (By Regine Andres, INQUIRER.net Intern)
