Phishing vs. spear phishing: What’s the difference in 2026?

What’s the difference between spear phishing vs. phishing? Both are social engineering attacks that use fraudulent emails to steal data, money, or access.

The difference is precision.

Phishing casts a wide net. Attackers send thousands of generic emails hoping someone takes the bait. Spear phishing is a targeted attack aimed at specific individuals, often using personal details to make the message convincing.

That precision makes spear phishing far more dangerous. The FBI found Business Email Compromise (BEC)—a form of spear phishing—to have caused $50.5 billion in reported losses over the last decade. Meanwhile, 91% of all cyberattacks start with a phishing email, and 90% of those don’t even contain malware.

They rely purely on deception.

Fortunately, once you understand how these attacks work, they’re easier to spot and prevent. Below, we’ll break down the key differences between phishing vs. spear phishing, real-world examples of each, and practical steps to protect your organization from both.

What is spear phishing?

Spear phishing is a targeted cyberattack where criminals send personalized fraudulent emails to specific individuals or organizations. Unlike regular phishing, which casts a wide net with generic messages, spear phishing attackers research their victims and craft emails that appear to come from trusted sources—colleagues, executives, or business partners.

Scammers often use social media to legitimize their requests to gain information on their target.

When contacting the target, they will address them by name and use personal facts and/or casual language. They may also use malware to gather private information.

Their primary goal is to manipulate employees into revealing sensitive data or committing unauthorized actions, such as wire transfers to fraudulent companies.

Scammers of this nature commonly employ two methods of attack: 

1. Whaling attacks: These are attacks aimed at senior executives, i.e., individuals with the power to access confidential information and (unknowingly) enable a data breach or approve a large money transfer.
2. CEO fraud: Targeted attacks against junior employees where the attacker impersonates a senior authority (for example, the CEO) or other high-level colleagues. They then pressure the reader into taking unauthorized actions. 

Real-world spear phishing examples

Spear phishing isn’t a theoretical risk. They’re attacks that bypassed security teams, fooled experienced professionals, and cost organizations millions.

Every example below shares the same patterns:

• Executive impersonation: Attackers posed as CEOs, CFOs, or trusted vendors
• Financial requests: The goal was almost always a wire transfer or payment
• Urgency and confidentiality: Requests were framed as time-sensitive or secret
• No obvious red flags: The emails looked legitimate and referenced real business context
• No malware involved: These attacks relied purely on deception, not technical exploits

Spear phishing doesn’t need malware to cause catastrophic damage. A single convincing email is enough.

FACC: $47 million lost to a fake CEO email

In 2016, Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer FACC received an email that appeared to come from the CEO. It requested an urgent wire transfer for a confidential “acquisition project.” The email looked legitimate. The request seemed plausible. An employee transferred €42 million (roughly $47 million) to accounts controlled by the attackers.

The company never recovered the funds. Both the CEO and CFO were fired in the aftermath.

Sony Pictures: Spear phishing leads to catastrophic breach

The 2014 Sony Pictures hack started with spear phishing emails sent to employees. Once attackers gained access, they moved through Sony’s network, eventually deploying destructive “Wiper” malware that took down the company’s systems for weeks.

The damage went beyond downtime. Attackers leaked unreleased films, confidential executive emails, employee salary data, and sensitive business documents. The attack cost Sony an estimated $100 million in damages and recovery.

Ubiquiti Networks: $46.7 million wire fraud

In 2015, networking company Ubiquiti Networks disclosed that attackers had stolen $46.7 million through what they called “employee impersonation and fraudulent requests.” Spear phishing emails convinced finance employees that executives had authorized transfers to overseas accounts.

Ubiquiti eventually recovered about $15 million. The rest was gone.

What is phishing?

Regular phishing campaigns cast a broad net, whereas spear phishing emails are a more targeted approach to cybercrime.

However, that doesn’t make regular phishing emails any less of a threat.

Phishers commonly spread their scams over email, though they may target random individuals over phone calls (“vishing” ) or text messages (“smishing”). Phishing is a volume play. Out of thousands and thousands of attempts, at least one will be successful.

However, unlike spear-phishing attackers, everyday scammers use impersonal but urgent language to manipulate readers into downloading a malicious attachment, clicking an unsafe link, or disclosing private information such as credit card details or login credentials.  

Phishing can happen in many different ways, including:

• Vishing: Phishing over phone calls or downloaded internet protocols (Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP).
• Smishing: Phishing over text messages, also known as SMS phishing. Just as with computers, hackers can infect phones with malware. 
• Business email compromise (BEC): As with spear phishing attacks, general phishing attempts use spoofed or hacked email addresses to lure in victims.
• Wire transfer phishing: This form of phishing is geared towards bank transfers to fraudulent entities.

Difference between spear phishing vs phishing

While spear phishing and phishing share a lot in common, they both threaten your business with different risks—and the security measures you take to defend against them differ. Here’s an at-a-glance list of differences between spear phishing and standard phishing:

1. Attack style

• Spear Phishing: Think of spear phishing as a skilled fisher with a single line, selecting the perfect bait for a specific fish. The angler studies the fish’s habits, preferences, and environment, ensuring the lure works. This precise approach makes the catch more likely and harder for the fish to recognize as a trap.
• Phishing: On the other hand, standard phishing is like a large fishing trawler casting a wide net into the ocean. The goal is to capture as many fish as possible, without concern for the type of quality. This method is about quantity, not quality.

2. Personalization

• Spear Phishing: Cybercriminals spend time understanding their target’s habits, relationships, and interests. They craft personalized messages that appear legitimate and relevant to the recipient, making the deception much more convincing.
• Phishing: Standard phishing emails lack this level of personalization. They are typically generic and sent to large groups of people. The messages might include common phrases like “Your account has been compromised” or “You’ve won a prize,” which can be easily spotted by savvy users.

3. Urgency

• Spear Phishing: These attacks often build a sense of trust over time, making the recipient feel comfortable and less suspicious. The attacker might not immediately ask for sensitive information but instead gradually gain the victim’s confidence before striking.
• Phishing: Urgency is a common tactic in standard phishing. The emails often create a sense of immediate action required, such as “Click here to update your password immediately” or “Your account will be locked if you don’t respond within 24 hours.” This urgency is designed to make victims act quickly without thinking.

4. Purpose

• Spear Phishing: The goals are usually more specific and high-stakes. Attackers might be after confidential company information, financial details, or access to specific systems. They often target high-ranking executives, finance departments, or individuals with access to valuable data.
• Phishing: The objectives are broader and usually aim to collect a range of information from a wide audience. Attackers might be looking for login credentials, credit card numbers, or personal information that can be sold or used in further attacks.

5. Prevention

• Spear Phishing: Because of its targeted nature, spear phishing can be more challenging to detect with traditional security measures. It requires more sophisticated defense strategies, such as advanced threat detection systems, employee training, and strict verification processes for sensitive requests.
• Phishing: Standard phishing can often be caught by spam filters and basic email security tools. However, user education and awareness are still important because some phishing attempts can slip through these defenses.

Aspect	Regular phishing	Spear phishing
Target approach	Cast a wide net – sends thousands of emails hoping someone bites	Precise targeting – like a skilled angler choosing the perfect lure for a specific fish
Research effort	Minimal to none – uses generic templates and messaging	Extensive – studies the target’s behavior, connections, and preferences
Message style	Generic greetings (‘Dear Sir/Madam’) and cookie-cutter content	Personalized content with accurate details about the target’s life or work
Time investment	Quick setup, automated sending	Days or weeks of preparation for a single attack
Success rate	Low per email, but volume makes up for it	Much higher due to careful targeting and personalization

7 tips to protect from spear phishing & phishing

It takes just one act to infect a computer and potentially compromise an entire organization. Fortunately, the right tools and information can thwart even the most invasive attacks. Here are a few simple steps you can take today to prevent phishing attacks of all kinds.

1. Encrypt your data

In any case, where your data or device is stolen, data encryption will ensure that the attacker cannot access or use the data.

2. Use multi-factor authentication 

Multi-factor authentication is one of the best ways to ensure protection when your credentials or passwords are compromised. Attackers can only access your data if they’ve authorized entry on every single authentication channel. In almost all cases, they won’t be able to do this.

3. Authenticate your email

This best practice is meant to prevent the primary way credentials are stolen. You can authenticate your email through various methods, such as configuring DMARC, Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).

Want to get visibility into the bad senders using your domain? Valimail Monitor identifies all of your senders by name, rather than IP address. This way, you can ensure only authorized senders can utilize your domain.

4. Never open a suspicious email attachment

One malicious link or attachment has the power to lock you out of your device, steal sensitive data, and delete critical files. For these reasons, it’s imperative that you read through any suspicious or even unexpected emails.

Though you may recognize the sender, it never hurts to double-check with them before opening an email attachment.

5. Keep software current and updated

By enabling automatic downloads on all applications and operations systems, users are less likely to be compromised by potential security exploits and phishing attempts.

6. Use strong passwords and regularly update them

Hackers can crack 90% of all passwords in just under six hours. Most people use recycled passwords at home and in the workplace, which poses a serious security risk.

Fortunately, users can deter cybercriminals by developing strong password habits and tools like password managers.

7. Stay up to date and follow best practices 

Given the right incentives, anyone can fall prey to a phishing attack. Sharpen cybersecurity know-how with regular security training sessions and briefings. Make sure to regularly check the newest best practices as phishing tactics continuously evolve.

How DMARC safeguards your entire business

Organizations are highly encouraged to implement DMARC authorization protocols and solutions to fortify their security efforts and ensure 360-degree protection.

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is the gold standard for strong email authentication. It ensures that only authorized senders can send emails using your domain and restricts unauthorized users from malicious acts such as email spoofing, phishing, and spear phishing. It’s so important that multiple federal governments, including the US, UK, and Germany, require it for all government emails.

It combines and leverages the email authentication standards, SPF and DKIM. As a website or business owner, you want to ensure that all visitors or recipients will only view emails that you personally have sent or authorized. DMARC is the most effective way to completely secure your email and ensure that every email is intentional, safeguarded, and free of cybercriminal activity. 

Bonus: Not only do DMARC solutions safeguard your email activity, but they can positively impact your organization’s reputation and brand. DMARC effectively protects your brand by thwarting unauthorized parties from sending malicious emails, preserving your brand’s voice and integrity.

Additionally, DMARC reports provide increased visibility and transparency into your email activity. This level of visibility allows you to identify and further prevent any suspicious acts.

Curious what your domain’s DMARC status is? Use Valimail’s free domain checker to get a baseline of your phishing protection:

Protect your business from phishing with Valimail

Both regular phishing and spear phishing campaigns have the power to damage an organization’s credibility. The right email security can avert phishing attacks with simple protocols.

At Valimail, we provide automated DMARC configuration for organizations of all sizes, boosting deliverability rates and protecting brand integrity from spoofed emails. Valimail optimizes DMARC enforcement so organizations can rest assured, knowing only authorized senders can reach out to customers, partners, and employees. 

Thanks to our user-friendly authorization tools, DNS configuration requires little to no technical expertise. Just set your authorization once and keep your domain secure forever.

In addition to added security, our easy-to-use platform provides detailed analytics and rich, real-time supplemental data to help you get the outreach you need. Protect yourself with Valimail. We’ve blocked over 8.6 billion bad actors and we get you to DMARC enforcement 4x faster than legacy DMARC vendors and 8x faster than DIY so your email is protected.

Frequently asked questions about spear phishing vs phishing