Vigilant Belgians reported nearly 10 million suspicious messages to suspicious@safeonweb.be in 2025. The figures show that phishing remains far from decline and that fraudsters continue launching phishing campaigns on a massive scale.
Internet users across Belgium continue to actively help each other by forwarding suspicious messages to verdacht@safeonweb.be. A survey by the Belgian Cybersecurity Centre (Safeonweb, 11/2025) reveals that 43% of Belgians now forward such messages. This flow of information proves invaluable to the phishing shield (the BAPS system) and enables authorities to warn citizens more quickly.
These reports allow experts to identify suspicious links and automatically redirect less vigilant internet users who click on them to a warning page. This redirection occurred no fewer than 200 million times in 2025.
BAPS technology expands thanks to new partnerships
The technology behind BAPS continues to evolve. New partnerships were established in 2025 with the FSMA and FPS Economy, among others. These organisations regularly receive reports about fake webshops and investor platforms and can now use BAPS to directly redirect fraudulent domains. The initial results show promise and are keeping internet users away from suspicious online platforms more quickly.
Phishing remains a gateway for cybercriminals
Phishing will remain one of the most commonly used attack methods in 2025. Social engineering techniques such as phishing serve as the main gateway for fraudsters. Phishing, including vishing, spam and malvertising, accounts for approximately 60% of reported cases (ENISA Threat Landscape, 2025).
AI and deepfake technology make phishing harder to spot
New AI tools enable criminals to write flawless Dutch, French and English and imitate the communication style of companies. Classic warning signs such as spelling mistakes disappear as a result, and spam filters can be bypassed more easily.
Security experts, including Europol, also warn that AI techniques such as deepfake audio and video can be deployed for sophisticated forms of CEO fraud and spear phishing. Targeted attacks become even more credible as a result.
For citizens and businesses, this means that a well-designed email, text message, WhatsApp message or social media post can be completely fake whilst still leading to emptied bank accounts, identity theft or malware infections.
To recognise AI-generated phishing, people need to focus less on form and language and more on context: unexpected pressure to act quickly, requests for passwords or bank details, links that do not match the official website, or messages that seem 'too good to be true'. Always verify via a reliable channel, for example by typing in the web address yourself or calling your bank on a known number.
Never fall into the trap again! Discover the 4 tools from Safeonweb
Email address suspicious@safeonweb.be
Forward suspicious messages to suspicious@safeonweb.be. Suspicious links from all reports are analysed by the team. More information about this email address can be found here.
Safeonweb app
Information about common suspicious messages is collected and shared via the Safeonweb app. Users are quickly informed when new phishing messages start circulating. The app is available in the official app stores (App Store and Google Play Store). 80 warnings about current phishing campaigns were published in 2025.
Safeonweb e-learning
Learn how to recognise suspicious messages in just ten minutes by visiting surfwithoutworries.safeonweb.be. Four new episodes are planned for this series in 2026.
Safeonweb browser extension
Install the Safeonweb extension in your browser. The extension warns you when you visit an unsafe website or when entering data carries risks.