A new Kaspersky review reveals how cybercriminals revived and refined phishing techniques to target individuals and businesses in 2025, including calendar-based attacks, voice message deceptions and sophisticated multi-factor authentication (MFA) bypass schemes.

The findings emphasise the critical need for user vigilance, employee training and advanced email protection solutions to counter these persistent threats moving forward.

Calendar-based phishing targets office workers

A tactic originally from the late 2010s, calendar-based phishing, has reemerged with a focus on B2B environments. Attackers send emails with calendar event invitations, often containing no body text, hiding malicious links in the event description.

When opened, the event auto-adds to the user’s calendar, with reminders urging them to click links leading to fake login pages, such as those mimicking Microsoft.

Previously aimed at Google Calendar users in mass campaigns, this method now targets office employees. Organisations should conduct regular phishing awareness training, such as simulated attack workshops, to teach employees to verify unexpected calendar invites.

Voice message phishing with CAPTCHA evasion

Phishers are deploying minimalist emails posing as voice message notifications, containing sparse text and a link to a basic landing page. Clicking the link triggers a chain of CAPTCHA verifications to bypass security bots, ultimately directing users to a fraudulent Google login page that validates email addresses and captures credentials.

This multi-layered deception highlights the need for employee training programmes, such as interactive modules on recognising suspicious links and advanced email server protection solutions like Kaspersky SecureMail, which detect and block such covert tactics.

MFA bypass via fake cloud service logins

These sophisticated phishing campaigns are targeting multi-factor authentication (MFA) by mimicking services like pCloud (a cloud storage provider that offers encrypted file storage, sharing and backup services).

These emails, disguised as neutral support follow-ups, lead to fake login pages on lookalike domains (e.g., pcloud.online). The pages interact with the real pCloud service via API, validating emails and prompting for OTP codes and passwords, granting attackers account access upon successful login.

To counter this, organisations should implement mandatory cybersecurity training and deploy email security solutions like Kaspersky Security for Mail Servers, which flags fraudulent domains and API-driven attacks.

“With phishing schemes growing more deceptive, Kaspersky urges users to treat unusual email attachments, like password-protected PDFs or QR codes, with caution and verify website URLs before entering any credentials.

“Organisations should adopt comprehensive training programmes, which includes real-world simulations and best practices for spotting phishing attempts. Additionally, deploying robust email server protection solutions ensures real-time detection and blocking of advanced phishing tactics,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.

Hallos, formerly known as Aahbibi, has officially announced its rebrand alongside the launch of more than 5,000 self-paced courses aimed at strengthening knowledge transfer, accelerating skill acquisition, and improving literacy among everyday learners across Africa and beyond.

The new identity signals a renewed commitment to building an inclusive, creator-driven learning ecosystem that equips individuals with practical, relevant skills for today’s economy.

Positioned as a creator-economy engine, Hallos brings together education, entertainment, and commerce within a single digital platform. It integrates live classes hosted by creators, social commerce and merchandising, podcast-driven learning, and quiz-based gamification. This blended approach is designed to deepen understanding, boost engagement, and promote fast, practical learning experiences for users at every level.

With creators already active on the platform from Kenya, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Lagos, the United States, and Dubai, Hallos is cultivating a truly global community rooted in African creativity and innovation. Its expanding international network offers diverse perspectives, practical insights, and culturally relevant content that resonates with learners across regions.

Beyond online learning, Hallos is also emerging as a creative economy powerhouse, driving engagement through physical and hybrid experiences.

Upcoming initiatives include the Learning247 Creator Summit at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), and a major exhibition at the Enugu Technology Festival. These events are designed to connect creators, learners, and industry stakeholders, fostering collaboration, showcasing innovation, and expanding opportunities in the creative and digital sectors.

At the heart of Hallos’ mission is a four-pillar strategy focused on long-term social and economic impact. The platform is dedicated to supporting women in technology, advancing massive open connected education, and positioning Africa as a global production hub through market-ready skills development.

By empowering individuals with practical knowledge, Hallos aims to strengthen the labour market and unlock new economic opportunities across the continent.

Hallos is also introducing a social impact course that encourages collective participation in Africa’s transformation. The initiative invites individuals, creators, and organisations to help reshape narratives, broaden opportunities, and drive the continent toward greater prosperity.

With its new brand identity and expanded course catalogue, Hallos is charting a bold future for learning — one where creators lead, communities thrive, and practical knowledge is accessible to all.

African fintechs hoping to sign up the continent’s next billion users will need to rethink the industry’s long-running growth playbook, according to Musty Mustapha, Managing Director of Kuda Microfinance Bank, who says cashbacks and incentives may drive downloads but rarely help build sustainable businesses.

Kuda MFB MD

Speaking at a fintech panel discussion on scaling digital financial services across Africa at Tech Revolution Africa, a gathering of tech leaders, investors, operators, and professionals which was held at Landmark Event Center on January 31, 2026, Mustapha objected to what he described as the “growth at all costs” culture which has defined much of African fintech so far. While incentives can quickly inflate user numbers, he said they often fail to create the kind of trust and consistent usage that keeps customers long term.

“It is easy to buy users,” he said. “But if you grow without creating real value, you’re only solving for today’s numbers and ignoring whether the business survives tomorrow.”

His comments come at a time when many startups are under pressure to demonstrate stronger unit economics as venture funding tightens and investors shift attention from rapid acquisition to profitability and retention. In that environment, Mustapha argues that reliability, not marketing spend, will determine which fintechs endure.

Contrary to common assumptions, he said African consumers are not resistant to technology but cautious, shaped by years of unreliable services and weak infrastructure. Products that work seamlessly elsewhere often struggle locally because they fail to account for that trust deficit.

“They’re not digitally naïve,” he said. “They’ve just operated in low-trust environments. If something fails even once or twice, you lose them.”

That focus on trust has influenced how Kuda Microfinance Bank has approached its growth. Launched in 2019 as a digital-first bank, it expanded from roughly 100,000 customers within its first year to nearly 300,000 the next, before surging past 2 million customers in 2021. Today, the microfinance bank serves more than 7 million Nigerians, Mustapha said, describing the journey as less predictable than the numbers suggest.

“The reality is, you can’t forecast scale neatly,” he said. “You can wake up and suddenly have a huge spike in users. If your systems and people aren’t ready, you crumble.”

In his view, the strain on a fintech typically shows up first behind the scenes, not on its app. As volume increases, back-office functions such as reconciliation, chargebacks and customer support can quickly become chokepoints, eroding the trust that fintechs are trying to build. Founders, he said, often underestimate these operational demands in the early days while prioritising product development.

“Anything you don’t pay attention to in your first six months will come back to hurt you at scale,” he said.

External constraints add more complexity. Payment rails, power supply, and connectivity remain outside the control of most fintechs, making outages and delays inevitable. Rather than trying to outspend those limitations, Mustapha said companies must design around them by building redundancies and multiple pathways for critical services.

“You don’t assume perfection,” he said. “If one channel fails, there must be another. That’s how you stay reliable.”

As traditional banks, telcos, and startups increasingly compete for the same mass-market customers, Mustapha expects the winners to combine the strengths of each group — the capital base of banks, the distribution reach of telcos, and the speed of fintechs. But regardless of the model that dominates, he believes the fundamentals will remain the same.

For millions of first-time or underserved users, the deciding factor is simple: whether the service works every time.

“There’s this idea that the average customer can’t use sophisticated products,” he said. “That’s not the issue. What they want is something they can trust.”

As fintech chases its next phase of growth, trust, rather than incentives, may prove to be the sector’s most valuable currency.