Your company is a target. Here's why and what to do about it.
Most small businesses have never trained their employees on phishing. Attackers know this.
What phishing actually looks like
Phishing is a fake email or text message designed to trick someone on your team into clicking a link, entering a password, or transferring money. The messages look real — they impersonate your bank, your CEO, your IT provider, your shipping company.
These aren't the obvious Nigerian prince emails from 2005. Modern phishing emails use your company's actual branding, reference real projects, and arrive at 2pm on a Tuesday when everyone's busy. They look like a password reset from Microsoft 365, an invoice from a vendor you actually use, or an urgent request from your boss.
Common example
“Your Microsoft 365 password expires today”
Links to a fake login page that captures your real credentials.
Common example
“Invoice #4821 — payment overdue”
Looks like a real vendor invoice. The PDF contains malware.
Common example
“Hey, can you wire this today? — CEO”
Impersonates your boss asking for an urgent transfer.
Why small businesses get hit hardest
Attackers don't manually pick targets. Phishing is automated — millions of emails, see who clicks. Company size doesn't protect you. In fact, it makes you more attractive.
SMBs are preferred targets because they're less likely to have email filtering, security training, or an IT team that catches intrusions quickly. A 20-person company with one compromised email account gives an attacker access to client data, banking credentials, and internal systems. Same damage as a Fortune 500 breach, with none of the recovery resources.
43%
of cyberattacks target small businesses
Source: Symantec Internet Security Threat Report
60%
of small businesses that suffer a cyberattack close within 6 months
Source: National Cyber Security Alliance
The assumption that “we're too small to be targeted” is the single most dangerous belief in small business cybersecurity. Attackers specifically exploit it.
What a phishing attack actually costs
“Average breach cost” is abstract until you break it into the line items that show up on your desk the week after it happens.
Direct costs: $120,000 – $150,000
Forensics investigation, legal notification requirements, credit monitoring for affected clients, system remediation. Most SMBs need outside help for all of this.
Client trust and contracts
Clients leave. Prospects ask about your security practices. RFPs require breach history disclosure. The reputational cost can exceed the direct financial cost.
Insurance coverage gaps
44% of cyber insurance claims are rejected due to weak security controls. If you can't prove you trained employees, your policy may not pay out when you need it most.
Downtime
Half of SMBs that suffer an attack take 24+ hours to recover. What does a full day of zero productivity cost your company? Two days? A week?
What phishing training actually involves
You send your employees fake phishing emails on a regular schedule. The ones who click get brief, targeted training. Over time, fewer people click. That's it.
You don't need a security team. You don't need technical knowledge. Modern phishing training platforms handle the simulation design, the scheduling, the training content, and the reporting automatically. Your involvement after initial setup is checking a dashboard once a month.
Typical timeline:
Setup + first campaign. Import your employees, pick a template, send.
First results. You'll see your baseline click rate. It will be higher than you expect.
Measurable improvement. Click rates drop as employees learn to spot fakes.
Maintenance mode. The platform runs campaigns and training automatically. You check the dashboard.
Your insurer probably already asks about this
Most cyber insurance applications now include questions about phishing training and simulations. “Do you conduct regular security awareness training?” “Do you run phishing simulations?” “Can you provide documentation?”
If you're paying for cyber insurance without training your team, you're paying for a policy that may not pay out when you need it. 44% of cyber insurance claims are rejected for inadequate security controls.
Getting started takes one afternoon
PhishPlease was built for companies that don't have a security team, don't have an IT department, and don't want to spend weeks configuring enterprise software.
$30 one-time setup
Then $1 per employee per month. $20/mo minimum.
Set up in one afternoon
First campaign goes out the same day.
Automated training
Employees who click get brief, relevant lessons.
Exportable reports
PDF reports for your insurer, your board, or your own records.
14-day free trial. Full access. No credit card. Your first campaign goes out today.
Still have questions? See our FAQ