Just because a legitimate service asks for your login details doesn't mean you're not being scammed.

Cybercriminals are increasingly abusing legitimate software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, including various website builders and form builders, to host phishing pages, according to researchers at Unit 42, the cybersecurity arm of Palo Alto Networks. By using these above-board services, fraudsters can lend an air of legitimacy to their scams.

"It's very smart because they know we can't [block] Google and other [tech] giants," Adrien Gendre, Chief Tech and Product Officer at email security vendor Vade Secure, told Lifewire via email. "But even though it's harder to detect phishing when a page is hosted on a reputable website, it's not impossible."

Using legitimate services to trick users into handing over their credentials is nothing new. However, researchers have noticed a massive increase of over 1100% in the use of this strategy between June 2021 and June 2022. In addition to website and form builders, the cybercriminals are exploiting file-sharing sites, collaboration platforms, and more.