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The phishing attack your team won't see coming

The 10 SMB phishing patterns that have a 20–50% click rate — and the SLAM framework that catches all of them in 3 seconds. Download the free 10-page Pocket Guide.

10-page PDF — download instantly
SLAM Framework + visual checklists
30-day team quick-start plan
Pocket Guide · 10 pages · 2026
What's inside the SMB Phishing Defense Guide
⚠️
10 attack patterns — fake invoices, CEO fraud, IT alerts, vendor swaps
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12 red-flag quick reference — spot lookalike domains, personal email senders
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SLAM Framework — 3-second email check (Sender, Links, Attachments, Message)
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5-minute IR playbook — first 5 minutes after a suspected click
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30-day quick-start — week-by-week team rollout checklist
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3 response scenarios — suspicious email, clicked link, entered credentials

Why this guide

91% of breaches start with email. Most were preventable.

The patterns in this guide account for the vast majority of SMB phishing attacks. Every section is built for your office manager, your accountant, your HR coordinator — the people without a security team who need this most.

⚠️

10 real SMB attack patterns with click rates

Fake invoice, CEO fraud, Microsoft/Google IT alerts, shared document lures, QR code attacks, vendor payment swaps, password warnings, delivery phishing, calendar intrusion, and MFA fatigue. Each with real-world SMB case studies.

🔍

The SLAM Framework — 3 seconds, any email

S-Sender, L-Links, A-Attachments, M-Message. Run this check on every suspicious email before clicking, downloading, or replying. Works on any device, any email client.

⏱

5-minute incident response playbook

Disconnect, alert IT, document, reset credentials, notify management. If someone on your team clicks a phishing link, this playbook tells them exactly what to do in the first 5 minutes.

📅

30-day team quick-start plan

Week-by-week actions: enable MFA, walk through the SLAM check in your next team meeting, run your first simulated phishing test, and book a live session. Start now.

91% of data breaches start with phishing or social engineering (Verizon DBIR 2025)
20–35% average click rate for untrained employees on phishing simulations
$4.9M average cost of a phishing-related breach for SMBs (IBM 2026)

The attack patterns

10 phishing patterns hitting SMBs right now

Each pattern shows the exact red flags that give it away — and the average click rate when teams haven't been trained.

1

Fake Invoice / Billing Notification

Lookalike domain billing notice with urgency language, vague company name, and a link to "verify" or "view" the invoice.

Avg click rate: 24–32%
2

CEO / Executive Urgent Request

Email from a personal Gmail or Yahoo account impersonating your CEO, asking for gift cards or wire transfer. Blocks phone verification.

Avg click rate: 10–20%
3

Microsoft / Google IT Auth Alert

Fake "your account will be suspended" email from a lookalike domain (e.g., microsoft-security-alert.com). Asks you to re-authenticate.

Avg click rate: 18–28%
4

Shared Document Lure

Fake Dropbox / Google Drive / OneDrive notification asking you to "view" a shared file. Leads to a convincing credential-harvesting login page.

Avg click rate: 40–52%
5

QR Code Invoice / Meeting Invite

QR code in an email that bypasses your email gateway entirely and leads to a credential-harvesting page on mobile — the fastest growing vector.

Avg click rate: 15–25%
6

Vendor / Supplier Payment Update

Email from a known vendor asking you to "update payment information" or "confirm new bank details" — right before a large invoice is due.

Avg click rate: 20–30%

Detection framework

The SLAM Check — 3 seconds to catch any phishing email

Run this before you click any link, download any attachment, or reply to any unexpected request. Works on any device, any email client.

S
Sender — check the actual address
Hover over the sender name. Look for misspellings: paypa1 (lowercase L vs 1), g00gle (two zeros), micros0ft (zero vs letter o). Real brands use their domain, not Gmail or a lookalike.
Real: support@Microsoft.com | Fake: support@microsoft-support-portal.com
L
Links — hover before you click
Hover over every link. Check the URL in the status bar. Does it go to the brand's real domain? A link that says "apple.com" but shows "apple.com.malicious.net" in the hover is a phishing page.
Shortened URLs (bit.ly, tinyurl) + unknown sender = always delete the email
A
Attachments — watch for double extensions
Invoice.pdf.exe. Fake-Doc.js. Unexpected ZIP files. Real vendors don't send ZIP invoices. Never enable macros on an attachment you weren't expecting.
Real vendors don't send ZIP files for invoices. Ever.
M
Message — urgency + secrecy = phishing
"Your account is suspended", "Wire transfer needed today", "Don't tell anyone" — these are social engineering tactics. Real businesses don't block phone calls and demand immediate action via email.
"Act now", "URGENT", "Do not call me" = red flag every time

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Put this into practice with live training

The guide is a starting point. Your team needs to practice these skills in real scenarios. That's what a SecurEveryone session delivers — live, scenario-based phishing defense training.

Book a Session →