Phishing e-mails are old news. You’d think, with the threats and available security products, no one in the world clicks on them anymore. And yet, some do. Quite a few people do.
That’s phishing’s nature. It’s not just taking advantage of bad technology deployments. It’s taking advantage of human inclinations, office habits, and sentiments we don’t even realize we have.
So if you’ve ever wondered why employees fall for phishing emails (even in 2025), or you’re curious about the latest phishing email statistics, stick around. But first, let’s see what all we are covering in this blog.
What You’ll Learn in This Blog:
- Why Phishing Remains Effective in 2025
- 10 Surprising Human Factors for Phishing Clicks
- How Company Culture Determines Phishing Risks
- Technology’s Place (And Its Limits)
- How Can Leaders Build a Resilient Workforce
- What does it all mean?
- How Anagram Security Helps End the Cycle
- Wrapping It Up
Why Phishing Remains Effective in 2025
Phishing isn’t new; it’s been around since the mid-’90s. That’s ancient in the internet years. Here’s what’s important, though: phishing continues to succeed because it constantly adapts. Hackers don’t just repeat those crummy old “Nigerian prince” schemes. They refine, update, and personalize based on what’s hot today—new technology, working from home, machine learning tools, even world events.
Phishing thrives because hackers evolve faster than humans can keep up. We have brains wired with habits developed in our forebears over generations. Curiosity, trust, urgency—they all worked on our grandparents, and they work on us.
That’s why filters, firewalls, and fancy tools alone can’t wipe out phishing. Until people learn to find it in real-time, attackers will stay a step ahead.
Let’s dig into why employees still trust those emails.
10 Surprising Human Factors for Phishing Clicks
We’re spelling out 10 startling reasons why individuals are still taken in by the hook, together with what can turn things around.
1. Curiosity Really Does Kill the Click
Human beings are curious creatures. That “urgent document” or “mystery bill” in an inbox? It beckons the desire to take a peek.
Even when workers doubt something’s not quite right, curiosity might overcome prudence. Think about it: the reward system in the brain activates dopamine when we solve puzzles or uncover secrets. It’s something hackers are counting on, and that’s why many phishing emails are structured to make us believe they hold a secret.
And at the office, curiosity does not feel reckless—it feels responsible. What if this is a big file after all? What if I close it and it ends up hurting the team? Now the click feels diligence and not danger.
2. Urgency Tricks the Brain
While curiosity is a hook, so is urgency. Phishing emails are always shouting: “Act now or you’ll lose access!” or “Your account’s going to get deleted in 24 hours!”
Stressed brains short-circuit critical thinking. Instead of reviewing details, people act fast—because emergencies make us think hesitation equals disaster.
According to phishing email statistics, adding urgency in the subject line dramatically boosts clicks. Throw in a pinch of office authority, such as an illegitimate request from the fake CEO, and employees both hurry up and feel pressured. That’s quite a potent mixture.
3. Familiar Brands Lower Guards
Fewer expected Amazon, Microsoft, or Google to be spoofed. But hackers understand their most potent tool is still trust. That’s why spoof fake notices from mainstream platforms remain everywhere.
Here’s the kicker: people aren’t stupid. They understand there are scams out there. But where the email appears as though they’ve actually received it before, they relax. It’s like there’s a familiar face in a crowd—you simply don’t double-check quite so much.
Employees juggle dozens of tasks every day. They’ll click most of the time because it appears routine. And “routine” is safe, even when it’s not.
4. Overconfidence Is a Hidden Risk
Here’s a remarkable statistic: employees who are certain they’d never fall for a phishing email are more likely to fall for one.
Why? Overconfidence encourages shortcuts. They believe they’d spot a scam in a jiffy, so they read less carefully.
It’s the “I’ve got this” trap, like texting while driving. Confidence feels secure, but it’s actually dangerous.
5. Fatigue Makes People Sloppy
The ordinary worker is inundated with emails, pings, and notifications throughout the day. Attention is burnt out by 3 o’clock.
And then something goes wrong: weary brains no longer see red flags. A missing logo? An odd tone? A misspelled URL? They are completely unnoticed when we’re tired.
Certain phishing simulations reveal employees are more prone to click later in the day. Not because they are irresponsible individuals, but because they are tired human beings.
6. Social Proof Comes Into Play
We are fond of herd mentality. If something appears to be what “everyone else” does, we presume it must be safe. Phishing attacks, in particular, use such crowd mimicry to fool us.
Consider phony shared document” invites. Or phony calendar requests. Or your colleague has tagged you in this file.”
Colleagues are thinking, “My teammates are already doing it, so it’s okay.” And before you realize it, social proof gets converted into social engineering.
7. Personalization Feels Legit
Gone are the days of phishing emails starting with a generic “Dear User.” They are using names, job functions, and even LinkedIn-scraped information.
It’s that personal touch that makes an email real. Because if it’s got your name spelled right and talks about your company, then it’s the real deal.
This is one of the biggest shifts in why employees fall for phishing emails today. It’s simple to recognize the generic ones. It’s simple to think tailored ones are made only for you. And where things are tailored, trust grows.
8. Emotions Predominate
Phishing does not necessarily involve fear or a sense of urgency. It can trigger positive emotions, whether it’s the lure of a reward or simple excitement.
“Congratulations! You’ve won…” or “Here’s your employee bonus…” Those foster hope, not skepticism. And in those who are elated, rationality recedes.
It’s why emotion-driven phishing works, even in workplaces with security training. Training teaches rules. Emotion bypasses rules.
9. The sheer volume of emails is overwhelming
Let’s face it: inboxes are warzones. The average professional still opens over 100 emails a day. A majority are only given a fleeting glance.
Phishing thrives in the confusion. If a message appears routine in the pile, people open it to clear it out. It’s triage, not trust.
Here’s a stat worth remembering: even when employees spot a suspicious email, many don’t report it. They are too busy. They hit delete and move on—the virtual welcome mat awaits the next one.
10. Security Training Lacks a Human Perspective
Traditional awareness training has had a tendency… well, to bore. PowerPoint presentations. Cartoons. Quizzes no one remembers.
And here’s the kicker: employees aren’t switching off security messaging because they don’t care. They are switching off because it’s not engaging enough to hold their attention.
So while companies scratch their heads wondering why employees fall for phishing emails, the answer is often hiding in plain sight: training that treats people like kids doesn’t work. Training that feels practical, engaging, and respectful does.
How Company Culture Determines Phishing Risks
Phishing isn’t a problem of the individual. It’s a problem of the culture they are a part of. When speed matters more than caution, employees click first and think later. If communication is hectic—instantaneous Slack messages, emails, pings, notifications—people learn to reply immediately without confirmation.
Moreover, reporting is discouraged in most workplaces. Employees are terrified of “bothering IT” or getting in trouble for wasting time. So they delete something suspicious instead of reporting it. The lack of reporting means the organizations don’t realize quite how many phishing attempts are slipping through.
Flip the culture, however, and everything shifts. If there are rewards for reporting phishing, if teams get to party when they find “catches” as they party for wins, then security no longer equals punishment. That cultural shift can reduce click rates more than any software ever will.
Technology’s Place (And Its Limits)
It’s simple to wish technology could single-handedly eradicate phishing. Email filters, detection based on artificial intelligence, safe gateways—they’re useful, but far from foolproof. Hackers are familiar with ways to bypass filters via well-looking emails, minimal attachments, or redirects after you hit a link.
Even the best equipment has blind spots. Some phishing emails are so well-written that they deserve to go in the inbox. Others slip into trusted spaces—think Google Drive or Slack—where people let their guard down.
It doesn’t mean technology is unsuccessful. Far from it—it’s the first line of defense. Where organizations only rely on tools, they are setting themselves up for failure. It’s because phishing is a human and a technical problem. The magic recipe? Good filters and human gut sense honed through training. It seals the cracks hackers are quick to exploit.
How Can Leaders Build a Resilient Workforce?
Anti-phishing is not just an IT responsibility. It is something where departmental heads can make a big difference. When managers lead by example—pausing before clicks, reporting odd messages, and sharing near-misses—it builds security into daily habits.
Clear communication is key. Employees need to know exactly how to report a phishing attempt, who to contact, and what the next steps are. Without that clarity, confusion slows responses—or worse, stops reporting altogether.
Then there’s recognition. Highlighting employees who spot phishing sends a strong message: this matters. Suddenly, catching a scam doesn’t feel paranoid—it feels like professional pride.
If leadership embeds trust, open communication, and appreciation in their culture, phishing success rates decline. Because at the end of the day, high-performing teams don’t just avoid mistakes—they help each other stay on guard.
What does it all mean?
So, in short, phishing emails are a success not because people are “dumb,” but simply because people are human. Curiosity, urgency, trust, tiredness, routine—it’s all a factor.
That’s why phishing won’t go away any time soon. It adapts to human behavior, not technology. As phishing email statistics make clear, no one is immune, not even seasoned pros.
Actually, the solution isn’t embarrassing employees. It’s training employees in a way that clicks (pun intended). It’s training that doesn’t just dump information but develops gut-level instincts.
How Anagram Security Helps End the Cycle
At Anagram Security, we believe employees aren’t the weakest link—they’re the first line of defense. They just need training that works for them.
That’s why we offer two programs tailored for the real world:
- Security Awareness Training
Instead of lengthy videos or boring slides, our awareness modules are bite-sized, lively, and enjoyable. Imagine bite-sized challenges and puzzles akin to real phishing attacks. Employees don’t just “learn”—they practice. They cultivate instincts to recognize and stop threats before they do any damage. - Developer Training
For engineers, we go beyond textbook theory. Training puts developers in real-world code scenarios where vulnerabilities are present. They practice spotting flaws, analyzing them, and fixing them—building real skills for secure coding and design.
Both are fun, fast, and efficient. Why? Because the reality is, you can’t combat today’s phishing with yesterday’s training.
Wrapping It Up
Phishing emails are not going away. They’ve survived through the generations not despite people being irresponsible, but because they are humans. Curiosity, coercion, trust, tiredness, and even confidence make us individually vulnerable in our own way. Add those to a culture of pace in the office, the volume of emails per day, and training shortcomings, and you’ve a perfect storm of clicks.
That’s the bigger picture behind why employees fall for phishing emails. It’s not just about mistakes; it’s about psychology, habits, and environments that hackers know how to exploit. And if you look at recent phishing email statistics, one thing is clear: even the smartest and most experienced teams are still at risk.
Technology aids, but won’t catch everything. Leadership aids, but only if they create a culture where reporting phishing and taking a minute to slow down are promoted, not discouraged. At the end of the day, phishing defense isn’t about shaming employees—it’s about empowering employees.
That’s what Anagram Security was created for. Security Awareness Training transforms everyday employees into phishing-spotting pros with short, interactive challenges that actually stick. For developers, our Developer Training builds hands-on skills in secure coding and threat modeling, strengthening applications from the inside out.
It’s no match for phishing emails when technology and people collaborate.