In whaling, fraudsters target the ”big fish” – the CEO, the CFO and other members of senior management. They gather targeted information about managers in advance and later pretend to be them.
21.04.2026 –Whaling combines CEO fraud, spear phishing and social engineering – often with major financial loss. Criminals collect snippets of information about potential victims on all kinds of platforms across the internet. Employees with access to payment or card data are then asked to make large transfers under time pressure. This often involves the use of sophisticated AI voice cloning.
How to prevent whaling:
- Do not disclose sensitive and personal information to strangers
- Be cautious when sharing information on social networks such as LinkedIn
- Train employees regularly on phishing (incl. simulations)
- Use multi-factor authentication
- Define clear processes for cash transactions
- Publish as little personal information about managers as possible
- Keep IT security up to date (VPN, antivirus protection, etc.)
Awareness is the best protection.
Read more News
Fell for it? Talk about it!
Many people feel ashamed if they have fallen for a phishing attack or card fraud. But keeping quiet… Read more
Prevention as a precautionary measure
In the video, Stefan Giger, Chairman of the Pay Attent!on Association, explains why debit and… Read more
How to react if your card goes astray
What you should do if your card is lost, stolen or suspicious charges appear in your card… Read more
People represent the biggest security vulnerability
Technology makes cashless payments safer than ever before. Scammers know this too. That’s why they… Read more