Kaspersky has reported a spike in phishing emails containing malicious QR codes. Detections for these jumped from 46,969 in August 2025 to 249,723 in November 2025 – a more than fivefold growth – as cybercriminals increasingly exploit QR codes, a trend that will likely continue in 2026.

Attackers use QR codes in emails more frequently because they provide a simple and cost-effective way to conceal malicious URLs, evading detection by many protective solutions.

These QR codes are often embedded directly in email bodies or, even more commonly, within PDF attachments – an evolution that both masks phishing links and encourages users to scan them on mobile phones, which may have weaker security than work PCs.

Malicious QR codes commonly appear in mass phishing campaigns as well as targeted ones. Links embedded within them may lead to:

• Phishing forms impersonating login pages for services like Microsoft accounts or internal corporate portals, designed to steal usernames, passwords, and other credentials.
• Fake HR notifications urging employees to review or sign documents, such as vacation schedules, or even view lists of terminated staff, ultimately directing to credential-stealing sites.
• Fraudulent invoices or purchase confirmations in PDF attachments, often combined with vishing (voice phishing) tactics that prompt victims to call provided phone numbers to “cancel” or clarify the transaction, enabling further social engineering attacks.

These tactics exploit trust in routine business communications, leading to credential theft, account takeovers, data breaches, and financial fraud.

“Malicious QR codes have evolved into one of the most effective phishing tools, particularly when hidden in PDF attachments or disguised as legitimate business communications like HR updates.

“The explosive growth in November 2025 highlights how attackers are capitalising on this low-cost evasion technique to target employees on mobile devices, where protection is often minimal.

“Without advanced image analysis at the email gateway and safe scanning practices, organisations are left vulnerable to credential compromise and downstream breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.

To defend against this escalating threat, Kaspersky recommends educating employees on cybersecurity and deploying a mail server security solution such as Kaspersky Security for Mail Server that provides trusted and secure corporate email exchange, countering spam, email-borne infections, all forms of phishing, business email compromise (BEC), QR code attacks, and other threats.

As the world markets continue into a new cycle that sees them plunging into much trouble and uncertainty, the year 2026 beckons to be one that is ridden with high uncertainty and volatility in terms of geopolitical and macroeconomic trends. Although the year may pose various threats to traders, it also comes along with unparalleled opportunities that may be leveraged to achieve trading success through various trading assets set to display notable volatility trends in the year 2026.

JustMarkets

From long-term fundamentals to trading dynamics, these five key assets on JustMarkets are set to continue to be at the forefront in trading in 2026.

1. Gold (XAU/USD): The Ultimate Macro-Driven Asset

The gold price in 2025 reached $4,500 per troy ounce, and it continues to be one of the most traded assets world-wide. Gold is extremely sensitive to changes in the levels of inflation, interest rate forecasts, geopolitical events, and currency exchange rate movements. The recent years have shown the ability of the gold market to provide an extremely strong bullish momentum, as well as intraday momentum.

The relevance of the market of gold in the year 2026 specifically stems from the fact that the environment surrounding the economy of the world is facing challenges associated with growth, debt, and the policies of monetary easing. Despite the falling inflation rate in the economy, the real interest rates are also expected to be pressured downward, which has traditionally translated to favorable market conditions for the price of gold. The factor of geopolitics uncertainty and tensions between specific countries also adds to the significance of the market of gold.

For traders, the market offers favorable conditions because of its high volatility regime with adequate liquidity.

2. Silver (XAG/USD): Volatility with a Dual Personality

Silver often overshadows gold, but its performance in 2025 significantly outperformed its main competitor. The precious metal briefly reached $85, making it one of the best-performing assets in 2025. While silver, like gold, is sensitive to monetary policy and market sentiment, it also enjoys strong industrial demand related to energy transition technologies, electronics, and manufacturing.

This dual nature makes silver one of the most volatile and fastest-growing precious metals and trading instruments overall. In 2026, as global growth expectations fluctuate and industrial cycles remain uneven, silver will experience sharp directional movements and prolonged periods of volatility, but will fundamentally maintain a growth trend similar to gold.

For traders seeking high volatility, silver offers even greater percentage swings than gold, making it a powerful tool for well-managed strategies, both scalping and holding positions for multiple days.

3. Oil (WTI & Brent): Trading Supply, Politics, and Policy

Oil is still among the market-sensitive commodities. The change in OPEC+ production levels, global events affecting major oil-producing nations, as well as changes in global demand can cause prices to surge within a matter of hours.

Turning the focus on the outlook for the year 2026, it seems likely that the oil market will face well-supplied conditions. However, this will not mean extremely small degrees of volatility. Events surrounding Venezuela represent yet another key source of uncertainty. Changes within US policies regarding Venezuela, the export of oil, and the political leadership of the country could represent important influences on the levels of supply, especially when the focus shifts towards the heavier grades. Yet, the possibility of a substantial recovery looks very unlikely.

Even in highly saturated markets, surprise disruptions, production policy changes, or geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, can cause sharp price moves. Conversely, macroeconomic growth slowdowns or money market cycles may exert pressures on demands, thereby leading to highly two-sided markets.

4. US Stock Indices (Dow 30, S&P 500, Nasdaq): Liquidity and Trend Potential

US indices continue to be key trading assets in global trading activity. The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq reflect US economic performance, as well as global risk appetite, capital flows, and technological leadership, primarily driven by the AI boom.

In 2026, stock markets are likely to face divergent forces. On the one hand, monetary easing is supporting valuations, while slowing economic growth, declining interest in AI, and political uncertainty are increasing volatility and the risk of a deeper sell-off. This combination often leads to strong moves, deep corrections, and renewed all-time highs.

Indices offer unrivaled liquidity, clear technical behavior, and the ability to express macroeconomic views without the risk associated with individual stocks, making them important tools for both short-term and position traders.

5. EUR/USD: The World’s Most Traded Currency Pair

EUR/USD remains the benchmark for forex trading. Its deep liquidity, tight spreads, and technical clarity make it a favorite among professional traders. More importantly, the euro reflects the balance between the world’s two most influential central banks: the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

As interest rate differentials narrow and fiscal dynamics shift on both sides of the Atlantic, there’s every reason to believe EUR/USD will experience prolonged and powerful trending phases, punctuated by strong reactions to economic data and central bank signals.

In 2026, shifts in growth expectations, inflation trajectories, and political developments in both regions will keep this pair highly active, making EUR/USD a preferred option for traders who value stability, transparency, and adaptability across all trading styles.

Perfect Assets to Trade in 2026

These five markets unite their relevance on a global stage, and the responsiveness of these markets to macroeconomic and geopolitical events. Markets traded in gold, silver, oil, US indices, and the currency pair EUR/USD include the combination of markets most traders seek: deep liquidity, clear structure, and meaningful volatility.

On the JustMarkets trading platform, these instruments excel because of the optimal trading conditions offered, ensuring effective active trading. Tight spreads, fast execution of orders, as well as high leverage of up to 3000, enable traders to react swiftly to key market drivers, such as central bank statements or inflation figures, as well as geopolitical events.

Kaspersky has detected a scam tactic leveraging the OpenAI platform. Attackers are abusing OpenAI’s organisation creation and team invitation features to send spam emails from legitimate OpenAI addresses, potentially tricking users into clicking scam links or calling fraudulent phone numbers.

The spam campaign begins with attackers registering an account on the OpenAI platform. During registration, users are prompted to enter an organisation name, which can consist of any combination of symbols. Scammers exploit this by embedding deceptive text and fraudulent links or phone numbers directly into the field for organisation name itself.

Once the “organisation” is created, OpenAI provides an option to “invite your team,” allowing the input of target email addresses of victims. When invitations are sent, they originate from OpenAI’s address, making them appear fully legitimate from a technical standpoint.

Kaspersky detected several types of messages containing email threats sent in such a way. These are scam emails that promote fraudulent offers, such as adult services. Another attack angle is vishing – false notifications claiming a subscription has been renewed for a large sum: attackers instruct recipients to call a provided phone number to “cancel” the charge or take other actions that lead to further compromise. There may also be other email threats spreading via OpenAI platform.

The text that the attackers want the victims to read (highlighted in bold in the email template) is structurally inconsistent with the rest of the email template – which was originally designed to invite project collaborators. But the attackers bet on the fact that the victims would not pay attention.

“This case highlights a vulnerability in how platform features can be weaponised for social engineering email attacks. By embedding deceptive elements in seemingly innocuous fields like organisation names, scammers attempt to bypass traditional email filters and exploit user trust in reputable services.

“We urge all users to verify invitations carefully and avoid clicking embedded links without scrutiny. We also recommend brands to consider whether their online services or platforms could be abused by attackers,” comments Anna Lazaricheva, senior spam analyst at Kaspersky.