--- title: "Sometimes When You go Phishing You Catch a Shark | Phish Protection" description: "Sometimes When You go Phishing You Catch a Shark: It" image: "https://phishprotection.com/og/blog/sometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark.png" canonical: "https://phishprotection.com/blog/sometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark/" --- Quick Answer According to an article in \[People Magazine\](https://people.com/tv/barbara-corcoran-loses-almost-400000-in-phishing-scam/), "The incident unfolded last week when Barbara’s bookkeeper received an email about an invoice ‘approving the payment for a real estate renovation.'" Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Sometimes%20When%20You%20go%20Phishing%20You%20Catch%20a%20Shark&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark%2F&title=Sometimes%20When%20You%20go%20Phishing%20You%20Catch%20a%20Shark "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Sometimes%20When%20You%20go%20Phishing%20You%20Catch%20a%20Shark&body=Check out this article: https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark%2F "Share via Email") ![Phish Protection blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2020/03/prevent-spear-phishing-4568.jpg) _It’s easy to assume that someone who is rich and famous is also tech savvy, but that’s not always the case_. Take for example the news this week that Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran **lost almost $400,000** in a phishing scam. According to an article in [People Magazine](https://people.com/tv/barbara-corcoran-loses-almost-400000-in-phishing-scam/), “The incident unfolded last week when Barbara’s bookkeeper received an email about an invoice ‘approving the payment for a real estate renovation.’” Corcoran admitted she was duped. “_I lost the $388,700 as a result of a fake email chain sent to my company_. It was an invoice supposedly sent by my assistant to my bookkeeper approving the payment for a real estate renovation. _There was no reason to be suspicious as I invest in a lot of real estate._” This is such a brilliant example of perfect **social engineering** that it should be studied in universities for years to come. What makes for great social engineering? A **phishing email** so believable that nobody even stops to question it. _It’s the type of email that the victim actually expects to receive during the normal course of their business_. And as a result, they never even question it. Ms. Corcoran can expect more of these phishing emails in the future. ![Prevent spear phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2020/03/prevent-spear-phishing-4568.jpg) How was the scam discovered? “The error wasn’t noticed until the bookkeeper sent a follow up to Corcoran’s assistant’s actual address, informing her of what she had just done. That’s when the company became aware of the scam and the assistant noticed the hacker had **altered her email**.” Did you catch that? The hacker had altered the email. _Do you know who gets tricked by perfect social engineering? Almost everyone. Do you know what doesn’t? Technology_. The only way to combat perfect social engineering is with technology. _People get scammed by phishing emails because we engage with the human part of the email: the text and the images_. That’s the stuff the **hackers fake to trick** us. Technology doesn’t engage with the human part of the email. _It deals with the underlying code in the email: the links and email addresses_. And that’s where phishing emails can be spotted. **Cloud-based email security** with real-time link scanning like that available from [Phish Protection](/) is the kind of technology that doesn’t get fooled by perfect social engineering because it only looks at the u**nderlying code**: _where the links and emails point to_. That’s where phishing emails give themselves away. I think it safe to assume Ms. Corcoran didn’t know about Phish Protection. ![Prevent spear phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2020/03/prevent-spear-phishing-4569.jpg) It can’t be because of the cost. _Phish Protection only costs pennies per user per month_. It can’t be because of the headache of setting it up. _It only takes about 10 minutes_. The only logical conclusion is she didn’t know about it. It’s usually the shark that preys on others. In this case, it was the shark that was the prey. Don’t be the prey. _Try Phish Protection risk free for 30 days_. Be smarter than a rich and famous TV star. ## 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/) ## Related Articles [ Foundational 5m 0ktapus, Okta Breach Helps Attackers Launch Sophisticated Supply Chain Attacks Sep 5, 2022 ](/blog/0ktapus-okta-breach-helps-attackers-launch-sophisticated-supply-chain-attacks/)[ Foundational 4m 13 Spear Phishing Attacks Examples To Justify Investment For Phishing Prevention Solutions In Your Organization Aug 1, 2019 ](/blog/13-spear-phishing-attacks-examples-to-justify-investment-for-phishing-prevention-solutions-in-your-organization/)[ Foundational 4m All 14 centers of Kettering Health were affected by a massive ransomware attack, Major outage in the Ohio medical center May 23, 2025 ](/blog/14-centers-of-kettering-health-were-affected-by-massive-ransomware-attack-in-ohio-medical-center/)[ Foundational 4m 2021 Phishing Trends You Need To Be Wary Of Aug 2, 2021 ](/blog/2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]}}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"Sometimes When You go Phishing You Catch a Shark","description":"Sometimes When You go Phishing You Catch a Shark: It's easy to assume that someone who is rich and famous is also tech savvy, but that's not always the case.","url":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/sometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark/","datePublished":"2020-03-06T05:50:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-17T15:43:10.000Z","dateCreated":"2020-03-06T05:50:41.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/#person","name":"Brad Slavin","url":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/","jobTitle":"General Manager","description":"Brad Slavin is the founder and General Manager of DuoCircle, the company behind DMARC Report, AutoSPF, Phish Protection, and Mailhop. He founded DuoCircle in 2014 and has led the company's growth to 2,000+ customers across its email security product family. Brad's focus is product strategy, customer relationships, and the commercial and compliance side of email authentication (DPAs, SLAs, enterprise procurement).","image":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg","knowsAbout":["Email Security Strategy","SaaS Product Management","Enterprise Compliance","Customer Success","Email Deliverability Business"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin"]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/sometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark/"},"articleSection":"foundational","keywords":"Phishing","wordCount":510,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2020/03/prevent-spear-phishing-4568.jpg","caption":"Phish Protection blog post image","width":1200,"height":630},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://phishprotection.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Foundational","item":"https://phishprotection.com/foundational/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sometimes When You go Phishing You Catch a Shark","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/sometimes-when-you-go-phishing-you-can-catch-a-shark/"}]} ```