What Is Anti-Phishing? Techniques to Prevent Email and Domain-Based Deception

Phishing attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, faster, and more difficult to detect. They target brands and customers through emails, fake websites, social media, SMS, and QR codes, aiming to steal sensitive data and financial information. Anti-phishing software is designed to detect, block, and remove these threats before they cause damage.

Doppel supports brands by identifying impersonation attempts, monitoring for fake domains and profiles, and promptly removing phishing threats, forming a critical part of a modern anti-phishing defense strategy that protects your customers, employees, and your reputation.

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The Real Impact of Phishing

Phishing is not a minor inconvenience. It is a significant driver of breaches and financial losses for businesses globally. The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that phishing contributed to over 36% of breaches, while the FBI’s IC3 reported over $3 billion in phishing and BEC-related losses.

Phishing often leads to ransomware attacks, data breaches, and fraudulent financial transactions. Attackers use deepfake audio to impersonate executives, social media impersonation to harvest credentials, and QR code scams to trick users into visiting unsafe sites, highlighting the need for businesses to have automated anti-phishing software that detects and removes these threats before they escalate.

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What Modern Phishing Looks Like

Phishing has evolved far beyond generic scams. Modern phishing attacks use well-written language, real-looking logos, and believable sender identities to appear legitimate. These scams are delivered not just by email but also through SMS, fake websites, social media, and even phone calls.

Without dedicated anti-phishing software, these attacks can bypass manual detection and harm your brand and customers.

Email Phishing: Still the Primary Attack Vector

Most phishing attacks begin with email, using fake invoices, malware attachments, and header spoofing to trick recipients. Attackers craft convincing messages that prompt victims to share login credentials or transfer funds.

Anti-phishing software protects your inboxes by scanning emails for suspicious links and attachments, blocking malicious content before it reaches users.

Spear Phishing & Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Spear phishing targets specific individuals, such as executives or finance teams, using personalized information to increase credibility. BEC scams often involve attackers posing as vendors or executives requesting urgent payments or sensitive data.

Anti-phishing software uses behavioral analysis to detect unusual sender patterns, while Doppel’s monitoring tools identify and remove external impersonations of your leadership teams.

Smishing, Vishing, and Quishing

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• Smishing: Attackers send SMS messages impersonating banks, delivery services, or internal teams to steal credentials.
• Vishing: Voice phishing scams where attackers call victims, pretending to be executives or support staff.
• Quishing: Attackers use QR codes that redirect users to malicious websites, bypassing traditional detection methods.

Anti-phishing software and Doppel’s tools can monitor devices, scan suspicious links, and flag high-risk QR redirects to prevent attacks.

Lookalike Domains and Brand Impersonation

Attackers often register domains that closely resemble your brand to deceive customers and employees. Techniques like typosquatting, punycode manipulation, and clone sites are used to steal credentials or spread malware.

Doppel’s domain monitoring identifies these lookalike domains, and its automated takedown services remove these threats to protect your customers and brand trust.

Social Media Impersonation

Social media is an effective channel for attackers to impersonate brands and executives, using fake profiles to conduct scams, spread phishing links, and trick customers into sharing information.

Doppel monitors social media platforms for copycat accounts, flags suspicious activity, and initiates takedowns before these scams escalate.

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How Anti-Phishing Software Works

Anti-phishing software combines scanning, behavioral analytics, threat intelligence, and automation to detect and block phishing attempts across multiple channels.

Attackers constantly update their tactics. Effective anti-phishing software uses AI and machine learning to identify and stop new phishing attacks before they can cause damage.

Email Filtering and Link Analysis

Advanced anti-phishing tools scan email headers, content, attachments, and embedded links using real-time analysis and sandboxing. AI-powered systems can identify suspicious patterns and isolate threats, preventing phishing attempts from reaching users.

Threat Intelligence and Blacklists

Anti-phishing software integrates threat intelligence feeds and real-time blacklists to identify emerging phishing campaigns. Doppel’s systems enhance this by gathering data from brand monitoring, expanding your threat intelligence to include brand impersonation attempts.

Domain Monitoring and Takedown Automation

Proactive domain monitoring detects lookalike and malicious domains before attackers can launch phishing campaigns. Doppel automates the takedown process, reducing response times and preventing customers from falling victim to phishing sites.

Behavioral Analytics and AI

Behavioral analysis helps detect unusual login attempts, abnormal sender patterns, and suspicious user activity that may indicate phishing. Natural language processing identifies phishing lures in email content. AI reduces false positives while improving detection speed.

Alerts, Reporting, and SOC Integration

Anti-phishing tools should deliver actionable alerts, not alert fatigue. Integration with your security operations center (SOC) and incident response platforms ensures fast triage and remediation. Doppel’s dashboards and alerting features help teams manage phishing risks efficiently.

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Features to Look for in Anti-Phishing Software

Choosing anti-phishing software is not just about blocking spam; it is about building a layered defense that can adapt to modern threats. Attackers are employing more sophisticated methods, including multi-channel scams and rapid domain registrations, to target brands and customers. Your anti-phishing solution must be able to detect, respond to, and prevent these evolving threats before they lead to breaches or reputational damage. The following are key features to consider when evaluating anti-phishing software for your organization:

• Real-time scanning of emails and attachments
• AI-powered threat detection and analysis
• Domain monitoring with automated takedowns
• Integration with threat intelligence feeds
• Multi-channel protection (email, SMS, web, and social media)
• Reporting and detailed analytics
• SOC and incident response system integration

Doppel’s anti-phishing solutions align with these needs, ensuring your business has comprehensive protection against phishing.

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Use Case: Anti-Phishing Software in Action

Magic Eden faced dozens of simultaneous phishing threats during product drops and major announcements. Scammers spun up fake support accounts, malicious domains, apps, and NFT airdrop scams, each capable of draining user wallets or eroding trust. Doppel Vision detected and resolved threats that other tools missed.

How Doppel Enhances Anti-Phishing Strategy

Doppel complements your anti-phishing software by providing real-time monitoring and automated takedowns for brand impersonations across domains and social media platforms. This layered defense ensures threats are identified and removed quickly.

Doppel integrates seamlessly with existing email security tools, giving you complete anti-phishing coverage.

Explore Doppel’s Brand Protection and Executive Protection to strengthen your anti-phishing strategy.

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Final Thoughts on Choosing the Right Anti-Phishing Software

Phishing attacks continue to evolve, requiring businesses to use layered, intelligent, and fast anti-phishing solutions to protect against these threats.

Invest in anti-phishing software with AI-driven detection, domain monitoring, and automated takedown capabilities to protect your customers and your brand.

Doppel helps your organization stay ahead of phishing attacks with comprehensive monitoring and removal of impersonation threats.

Book a demo with Doppel to see how we can effectively protect your brand from phishing threats.

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