Phishing Activity Trends Report, 3rd Quarter 2025 percent decrease from the prior quarter's average of $83,099. The total number of wire transfer BEC attacks observed by Fortra in Q3 2025 increased by 57 percent compared to the previous quarter. Fortra attributes the increase in attack volume to a threat group it has dubbed Scripted Sparrow. Scripted Sparrow sends out large quantities of messages containing invoices for executive coaching services. The amount requested is usually just below $50,000. The group, whose members hail from South Africa, Nigeria, and Turkey uses a spoofed reply chain designed to trick the recipient into believing the expense Was approved by a company executive. The volume of these attacks suggests the use of automation to generate the unique PDF attachments and message bodies. During the third quarter of 2025, gift card scams were once again the most popular scam type, making up the high volume of Scripted Sparrow attacks, Wire Transfer requests increased to 5 percent of the attack volume compared to just 3 percent in the previous quarter.