What’s the difference between phishing, spear phishing, and whaling?
Cybercriminals use a range of tactics to trick people into clicking the wrong link, sharing sensitive data, or handing over access. Some attacks are broad and generic. Others are carefully targeted. All of them rely on human error – and that’s why it’s important to understand the differences between phishing, spear phishing, and whaling.
Each technique has its own level of sophistication, and each requires different levels of awareness to defend against.
What is phishing?
Phishing is the most common type of a social engineering attack. It’s usually a mass email sent to thousands (or millions) of people, pretending to be from a trusted source – like a bank, delivery service, or an internal team.
The goal? Trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware, or entering login credentials on a fake website.
Phishing messages often have:
A sense of urgency (“Your account will be locked!”)
Spelling or grammar mistakes
Suspicious links or attachments
Generic greetings (“Dear user”)
Traditionally, phishing relies on volume over precision. It’s cheap, quick, and effective— especially when people haven’t been trained to spot the signs. But that’s changing.
Today, phishing is getting smarter. With the help of AI, messages are no longer full of obvious red flags. Instead, they’re highly personalized, grammatically flawless, and context-aware—making them much harder to recognize and far more dangerous.
What is spear phishing?
Spear phishing is more targeted. Instead of casting a wide net, attackers do their homework. They gather information about a specific person, team, or company to make the message seem more legitimate.
This might include:
Using your name or job title
Mentioning real colleagues or projects
Imitating internal systems or vendors
Customizing the tone or timing of the message
Because spear phishing looks more authentic, it’s harder to detect – and often more successful. It’s frequently used to:
Steal login credentials
Access internal systems
Trick employees into transferring money or data
Training and phishing simulations are critical here. Employees need to recognize subtle red flags, not just obvious ones.
What is whaling?
Whaling is a high-level form of spear phishing. The target? Senior executives – the “big fish” – like CEOs, CFOs, and other high-ranking decision-makers.
Whaling emails are often highly personalized and may use:
Spoofed email addresses or lookalike domains
Legal or financial language
Urgent requests to bypass usual procedures (e.g., wire transfers, sensitive document sharing)
References to real business matters or confidential topics
Because executives often have greater access and authority, whaling attacks can lead to major data breaches or financial losses. And due to their position, they’re often less frequently challenged – making them attractive targets.
Why does this matter?
Each attack type requires a slightly different defense. While spam filters can catch basic phishing, only well-trained employees can recognize sophisticated spear phishing and whaling attempts.
By understanding the difference:
Employees are better prepared
Training can be tailored to risk level and role
Organizations can prioritize high-risk targets (like finance and leadership teams)
Good training covers all three
Phishing is evolving – and so should your defenses. That’s why Phished goes beyond the basics, giving employees at every level the skills they need to recognize and stop attacks. From generic phishing to targeted spear phishing and executive-level whaling, our training prepares people across the organization to stay alert.
Through realistic simulations and role-based training, employees – especially leaders and high-risk teams – learn how to spot and safely verify suspicious requests. With one-click reporting and our Zero Incident Mail™ safe learning space, they can practice, fail, and improve without real-world consequences. To keep awareness sharp, we deliver continuous microlearning: short, relevant updates that stick.
Behind it all is our dedicated team of cybersecurity experts. They monitor the latest threats and trends every day, ensuring that our training content evolves in step with the tactics attackers are using right now.
With Phished, your people don’t just learn – they stay ready.