Phishing Gets Personal: How Cybercriminals Are Weaponizing Contact Forms

Cybercriminals have found a new backdoor into your organization - and it's hiding in plain sight. Attackers are now exploiting legitimate "Contact Us" forms on business websites to launch phishing campaigns that slip past email filters and land directly in your team's inbox by weaponizing contact forms. What was once a trusted channel for customer inquiries has become a growing attack vector that preys on both technical oversight and human trust.

Why This Threat Should Be on Every Security Leader's Radar

Here's the challenge: traditional email security tools are designed to scrutinize external messages, flag suspicious domains, and catch phishing lures. But when a malicious message arrives via your own website's contact form, it bypasses many of those defenses entirely. The email appears to originate from your own domain or a trusted submission system, making it far more likely to be opened and acted upon.

For IT and security professionals, this tactic represents a larger trend that's reshaping the threat landscape. Attackers are moving away from obvious spam and instead abusing legitimate business processes. They're tailoring their approaches to exploit the very tools organizations rely on for customer engagement and internal communication. The result? Detection becomes harder, and the margin for error shrinks.

This isn't just a technical problem—it's a human one. Employees receiving these messages assume they're legitimate customer inquiries or vendor requests. The trust built into everyday workflows becomes the vulnerability attackers exploit.

The Human Firewall: Where Security Awareness Training Makes the Difference

Perimeter defenses alone won't stop this type of attack. When phishing comes through channels your team expects to be safe, the last line of defense is the user who reads the message. That's where KnowBe4 comes in.

KnowBe4's security awareness training and simulated phishing platform are purpose-built to keep your workforce ahead of evolving tactics like contact form abuse. By training employees to recognize red flags—even in seemingly benign messages—you reduce the likelihood of a successful attack. The platform enables organizations to:

• Educate users about emerging phishing techniques that traditional tools might miss
• Test readiness with realistic simulations that mirror real-world attack scenarios, including those delivered through unconventional channels
• Build a culture of vigilance where every employee understands their role in protecting the organization

Unlike static training modules, KnowBe4 continuously adapts to new threats, ensuring your team's awareness evolves as fast as attacker tactics do. This layered approach—combining technical controls with a well-trained workforce—creates resilience against social engineering schemes that exploit procedural trust.

Time to Rethink Your Threat Model

The exploitation of contact forms is a wake-up call: every communication medium is now a potential entry point. Security teams need to expand their threat models beyond email and endpoints to include web forms, chat widgets, and other customer-facing tools.

Here's a question for your team: When was the last time you assessed the security risks associated with your website's contact forms and submission tools? If the answer isn't recent, it may be time to revisit your defenses—and ensure your people are prepared to spot the threats your technology might miss.

Strengthening your human layer isn't just about reducing risk. It's about protecting your reputation, maintaining customer trust, and ensuring operational continuity in the face of attackers who are constantly innovating. With KnowBe4, you're not just responding to threats—you're staying one step ahead.