Top 10 Questions for Effective Phishing Simulation in 2025

Phishing attacks remain a significant threat, with 90% of data breaches beginning with phishing. Running diverse and targeted phishing simulations is key to training your employees to recognize and resist these attacks. However, to ensure success, it's critical to ask the right questions. Here are the top 10 questions you should be asking to design an effective phishing simulation program that prepares your team for the full range of phishing threats.

1. What Types of Phishing Attacks Are We Simulating?

Phishing attacks come in various forms, and attackers have expanded far beyond email phishing. Your phishing simulations should cover multiple attack vectors, including:

• SMS phishing (smishing): This form of phishing uses text messages to trick employees into clicking malicious links. With mobile phone usage pervasive, smishing attacks are growing fast. A smishing simulation ensures your employees are aware of the risks associated with fraudulent texts.
• QR code phishing (quishing): Attackers use malicious QR codes to direct victims to phishing websites. Given the rise of QR codes in everyday business operations, running a quishing simulation is crucial to test how well employees handle these attacks.
• MFA phishing: While multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a layer of security, it is not immune to phishing attacks. An MFA phishing simulation tests how employees react to fake authentication prompts, a rising technique in MFA phishing attacks.
• Voice phishing (vishing): Vishing attacks involve fraudsters impersonating trusted entities over the phone, tricking employees into sharing sensitive information. Running voice phishing simulations mimics these scenarios to train employees on how to handle social engineering calls.
• Callback phishing (TOAD): In callback phishing (also called telephone-oriented attack delivery (TOAD)), attackers prompt victims to call fake customer support numbers, using social engineering to gain access to sensitive information. Including callback phishing simulations ensures employees know how to handle suspicious phone-based requests.
• Spear phishing:Personalized phishing emails targeting specific individuals. A spear phishing simulation mimics these highly tailored attacks, which are often aimed at executives or employees with access to sensitive data.
• Business email compromise (BEC): In BEC attacks, criminals impersonate a trusted person (often a CEO or vendor) to steal funds or sensitive data. Simulating BEC attacks helps your teams recognize when an email appears to come from a senior executive or partner.

2. Are We Tailoring Phishing Simulations Based on Employee Roles?

Not all employees face the same phishing risks. For example, executives are more frequently targeted by spear phishing and MFA phishing attacks, while frontline workers might receive more general smishing or email phishing attempts. Tailoring simulations to fit the specific threats each role is likely to encounter increases training effectiveness.

For instance, the finance department may face callback phishing attempts where attackers impersonate vendors requesting sensitive financial details. Meanwhile, employees who frequently use QR codes, such as those in marketing, might benefit from quishing simulations. Tailored simulations make the training more relevant and engaging for employees.

3. How Often Are We Running Phishing Simulations?

Phishing simulations need to be frequent enough to keep security top of mind. Running simulations quarterly or even monthly can help, especially as vishing and MFA phishing attacks become more sophisticated. Regular testing ensures that cybersecurity awareness is maintained and allows you to monitor improvements over time.

Consistent simulations are also aligned with evolving phishing techniques. Regular exposure to SMS phishing, quishing, or callback phishing simulations ensures that employees stay prepared for the latest threats.

4. Are Our Phishing Simulations Realistic?

If phishing simulation training is too obvious, they won’t effectively train employees. To be truly impactful, simulations should mirror real-world phishing scenarios. For example, a smishing simulation might imitate a message from a familiar service provider, prompting the recipient to click a fraudulent link. Similarly, vishing simulations should replicate genuine calls that use social engineering to deceive.

Using realistic phishing templates or real life phishing attacks ensures that employees are exposed to authentic-looking cyber threats, helping them develop better instincts for detecting phishing or suspicious emails, calls, or texts. Crafting MFA phishing simulations with credible authentication prompts is especially effective given how commonly MFA is used today.

5. Are We Measuring the Right Metrics for Phishing Tests?

Tracking the results of your phishing simulations is essential to understanding how well your team is responding to phishing threats. It’s not just about whether employees click on a phishing link—it’s about capturing various data points to get a full picture of your organization’s phishing resilience. Key metrics include:

• Phishing Click rates: How many employees clicked on the phishing link or opened the malicious attachment?
• Phishing Report rates: How many employees identified and reported the phishing attempt, and how do phishing response rates compare to past performance?
• Phishing Response times: How quickly did employees recognize and report the phishing attack? Measuring phishing dwell time—the time between when the phishing email is received and when it's reported—is critical for minimizing the potential damage of an attack. Shorter dwell times indicate that your employees are quicker at detecting and reporting threats.

Analyzing these metrics over time provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your phishing training and highlights areas that may need improvement. For example, if a particular department consistently falls for callback phishing simulations, it may signal the need for more focused cybersecurity awareness training.

Additionally, comparing your results against industry benchmarks can help gauge how your organization’s performance stacks up against others in your sector. Using data like phishing risk scores across industries ensures you’re not only improving but also staying competitive in your industry’s cybersecurity posture.

To further optimize your program, consider generating detailed executive reports that summarize key metrics such as click rates, report rates, phishing response rates over time, and response times for leadership review. These reports offer strategic insights, helping senior management understand the overall effectiveness of your phishing simulation program and what steps need to be taken next.

6. How Do We Provide Awareness Training Post Phishing Tests?

Phishing simulations are only effective if employees receive proper feedback afterward. Employees who fail a test should be provided with immediate, constructive feedback that includes clear examples of what they missed.

Providing employees with detailed information on what went wrong will reinforce the lessons learned during the simulated phishing tests. Offering interactive learning modules or gamification features after simulated phishing campaign encourages engagement and continuous improvement.

For example, after failing a quishing simulation, employees could be walked through how to verify the legitimacy of a QR code before scanning it. Providing microlearning awareness training as follow-up can reinforce these lessons and improve retention.

7. Are We Addressing Behavioral and Psychological Factors?

Cybercriminals exploit emotional triggers like fear, urgency, or curiosity to make their phishing attacks more convincing. Incorporating these psychological elements into your phishing simulations is crucial. For example, vishing simulations that mimic urgent calls about a “compromised account” test employees’ ability to stay calm under pressure.

Understanding social engineering techniques and how they manipulate human behavior can help employees recognize these psychological triggers. Phishing simulations that mimic these tactics better prepare employees for real world attacks

8. Do We Have a Plan for Repeat Offenders?

Some employees may repeatedly fail phishing simulations. Instead of treating this as a disciplinary issue, consider creating a remediation plan. These employees can benefit from more focused training, one-on-one sessions, or enhanced phishing awareness courses tailored to their needs.

By identifying repeat offenders, you can proactively reduce risk and improve their resilience against phishing attacks like MFA phishing, vishing, or smishing.

9. Are We Encouraging a Culture of Reporting?

Training employees to avoid phishing is only part of the solution. A successful phishing simulation program also encourages a strong reporting culture. Employees should be rewarded for quickly reporting phishing attempts, whether they identify them during a simulation or in real-life situations.

Tracking phishing reports is crucial to understanding how vigilant your workforce is. The more comfortable employees feel reporting phishing attempts, the faster potential threats can be neutralized.

10. Are Executives and Leadership Engaged in Simulations?

Executives and high-level employees are prime targets for spear phishing and BEC attacks. Ensuring that leadership participates in phishing simulations sets the tone for the rest of the organization and demonstrates the importance of cybersecurity.

By involving executives in simulations, such as callback phishing or MFA phishing, you protect the individuals who are most likely to be targeted. It also helps promote a top-down culture of cybersecurity awareness.

By addressing these 10 questions, you can design a phishing simulation program that mirrors real-world threats and strengthens your organization’s phishing defenses. Incorporating various phishing methods—smishing, quishing, MFA phishing, vishing, and callback phishing—ensures your employees are prepared to face any attack, whether it's digital or over the phone.

Create an Effective Phishing Simulation Program With Keepnet

Building a phishing simulation program is significant for reducing cyber risks. With Keepnet's Phishing Simulator, you can easily create realistic phishing scenarios, track employee responses, and identify weak points. This tool allows you to tailor campaigns to mimic real-world threats like quishing and voice phishing, enhancing cybersecurity awareness across your organization. Plus, it offers detailed reporting to measure success and improve training outcomes.

Train your team to recognize phishing attempts and minimize risk. Try Keepnet’s Phishing Simulator today!

Further Reading

For a deeper understanding of phishing simulations and cybersecurity awareness, check out these insightful blogs:

• Understanding Quishing: QR Code Phishing Explained
• The Future of Spear Phishing: Top 5 Predictions for 2024
• Understanding MFA Phishing: Protection Measures and Key Statistics
• An Introduction to Voice Phishing (Vishing)
• What is Callback Phishing (TOAD) and How to Protect Your Business
• 30 Phishing Email Examples to Avoid in 2024
• How Effective is Security Training in Preventing Cyber Attacks?
• Cybersecurity Awareness Training: Why it Matters
• Free Phishing Awareness Training
• How to Increase Employee Interest in Security Awareness Training