---
title: "May the Force Be With You - That Force is a Phishing Attack | Phish Protection"
description: "The newest Star Wars movie due out this week, The Rise of Skywalker, could just as easily be titled The Rise of Hackers."
image: "https://phishprotection.com/og/blog/may-the-force-be-with-you-that-force-is-a-phishing-attack.png"
canonical: "https://phishprotection.com/blog/may-the-force-be-with-you-that-force-is-a-phishing-attack/"
---

Quick Answer

The newest Star Wars movie due out this week, \*\*\_The Rise of Skywalker\_\*\*, could just as easily be titled \_The Rise of Hackers\_, because they're using the release of the over-hyped movie to target fans with a phishing attack.

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![Phish Protection blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2019/12/phishing-definition-7568.jpg) 

The newest Star Wars movie due out this week, **_The Rise of Skywalker_**, could just as easily be titled _The Rise of Hackers_, because they’re using the release of the over-hyped movie to target fans with a phishing attack.

As reported in[ SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/malware/its-a-trap-cybercriminals-use-star-wars-rise-of-skywalker-as-bait/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=SCUS%5FNewswire%5F20191224&hmSubId=01xQvtS0ero1&email%5Fhash=0da939dab246e8101d6090def505f6f5&mpweb=1325-11699-1896988), “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is just being released into theaters today but _cybercriminals were already assembling fake websites and social media profiles to deliver malware to fans_, instead of something useful like the Death Star’s plans.”

Furthermore, “_Kaspersky researchers have found **30 fraudulent websites** and social media profiles disguised as official movie accounts advertising free copies of the film_, but in fact collect credit card data under the pretense of registering for the ability to download or view the movie. _So far, 83 users have already been affected by **65 malicious files** disguised as copies of the upcoming movie_.”

This isn’t the first time that hackers have used the most hyped entertainment event to target victims in a **phishing attack**. Earlier this year, hackers used the excitement around the[ Game of Thrones](/blog/when-it-comes-to-getting-phished-game-of-thrones-is-no-fantasy/) to target fans of the popular TV show. And the tactics used in that attack were eerily similar to the ones targeting Star Wars fans. _There they used official-looking websites to try and steal personal information and credit card numbers_. Sound familiar?

_If there’s a hyped entertainment event, you can be sure that hackers will seize the opportunity to target fans_. And it’s up to you to stay safe, despite your excitement. You have a couple of options. You could try to quell your excitement, or you could just protect yourself with super inexpensive **email security** from[ Phish Protection](/). 

![Phishing definition](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2019/12/phishing-definition-7568.jpg) 

**Phish Protection** does two really cool things. First, it scans your email for malicious content BEFORE it reaches your inbox, so you never see most phishing emails. And _you can’t fall for a phishing email if it never makes it into your inbox_.

The other thing Phish Protection does, for those emails that do make it to your inbox, _it scans the website of every link you click on_, no matter when you click on it. And if it turns out it’s a fake website, it keeps you from going there. And you can’t fall for a **phishing website** if you never get there.

Phish Protection is the antidote to over-hyped entertainment events. _It sets up in minutes and only costs pennies per user per month. Try it risk free for 30 days_. Then you can go crazy over the next over-hyped event.

## Topics

[ Phishing ](/tags/phishing/) 

![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg) 

[ Brad Slavin ](/authors/brad-slavin/) 

General Manager

Founder and General Manager of DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across DuoCircle's 2,000+ customer base.

[LinkedIn Profile →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin) 

## Protect your inbox from phishing attacks

Real-time email security with 60-day free trial. No credit card required.

[Start Free Trial](https://portal.duocircle.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=101&brand=phishprotection) [View Pricing](/pricing/) 

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