Message is mostly one image
An invoice, alert, or document notice contains little selectable text and presents the content as a large graphic.
Image-Based Phishing Awareness
How to Recognize and Report Image-Based Phishing
Image-based phishing places important message content, a deceptive button, link, phone number, or QR code inside an image rather than ordinary email text.
Use this guide to turn the threat into a clear employee decision, a safe practice scenario, and a reporting step your organization can support.
Plain-English definition • Warning signs • Safe simulation ideas • Reporting practice
01Understand the threat
Image-Based Phishing: a practical definition
Image-based phishing places important message content, a deceptive button, link, phone number, or QR code inside an image rather than ordinary email text.
The technique can reduce useful text cues and make the entire image behave like one destination. Employees still need to evaluate the sender, request, and independent route to the claimed service.
Source: CISA Phishing Guidance
02Recognition clues
Warning signs employees can check in a image-based phishing message
No single clue proves that a message is malicious. Teach employees to combine the request, sender, business context, destination, and available verification route before acting.
Whole image is clickable
Different-looking buttons or text areas lead to the same destination when inspected.
Accessibility and context gaps
The message lacks useful alternative text, expected account context, or a route to find the same item in the known service.
03Safe response
Move from suspicion to a supported next step
| Moment | Employee action | Program preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Before acting | Open the claimed service independently or contact the sender through a known route instead of clicking, scanning, or calling from the image. | Publish the authentic contact, application, or reporting route somewhere employees can reach without using the message. |
| When uncertain | Pause the request and report it through the approved channel with enough context for review. | Explain what the response team needs and how employees will know that their report was received. |
| After an interaction | Stop, contact the responsible team promptly, and describe the action taken without hiding the mistake. | Provide a well-known response route and avoid communications that discourage early reporting. |
Source: NIST: Recognizing, verifying, and reporting phishing
04Practice safely
Image-Based Phishing simulation and discussion ideas
Choose one learning objective per exercise. Use fictional people, organizations, accounts, payments, documents, and events, and test the reporting route before sending to employees.
Single-image invoice
Use a fictional invoice graphic and practice reaching the known purchasing system rather than selecting the image.
Image-button comparison
Show how several visual buttons can share one destination and teach employees how their mail client exposes links.
Accessible debrief
Provide equivalent text and accessible learning content so the exercise does not depend on vision or image rendering.
05Campaign workflow
Build the exercise around a decision employees can repeat
- 1
Define the behavior
Write down the image-based phishing clue being practiced, the expected action, the authorized audience, and the owner of follow-up.
- 2
Confirm the real process
Test the independent verification route, message-reporting option, response handoff, and employee support path from a representative account.
- 3
Pilot the scenario
Check delivery, links, landing content, accessibility, event records, automated inspection, stop conditions, and the explanation employees will receive.
- 4
Review in context
Reconcile intended recipients, successful deliveries, unique employee events, verified reports, response handling, and completed follow-up before drawing conclusions.
Source: NIST SP 800-50 Rev. 1: Building a Cybersecurity and Privacy Learning Program
06Useful measurement
Evaluate recognition, reporting, and the surrounding process
Record actual counts and denominators for delivery, unique recipient events, reports, and follow-up. Separate automated email inspection and repeat events where the available evidence supports doing so.
A image-based phishing exercise samples one scenario under one set of conditions. It does not establish an employee's intent, overall security awareness, or likelihood of responding the same way to a real attack.
Use findings to improve the real workflow: clearer verification instructions, easier reporting, faster response handling, better role-specific training, or a business control that reduces reliance on email alone.
Common questions
Common questions about Phishmake's features, onboarding, and support, answered to help you get started with confidence.
Is every image-only email malicious?
No. It is one contextual clue, not proof. Employees should consider the sender, business purpose, destination, and whether the claimed item exists in the known service.
How can image-based simulations remain accessible?
Include meaningful alternative text where appropriate, provide an equivalent debrief, test with assistive technology, and avoid scoring differences caused only by accessibility barriers.
Can image-based phishing be used in a phishing simulation?
It can be practiced when the scenario is authorized, proportionate, and tied to a real reporting or verification process. Provide an accessible alternative and do not use invisible controls, misleading accessibility text, or a simulation design that disadvantages employees using assistive technology.
How should image-based phishing simulation results be measured?
Review successful delivery, unique employee events, reports, response handling, and completed follow-up. Include scenario difficulty and operating context, and do not treat a click or report as a complete measure of employee risk.
Sources & further reading
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