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- Hundreds of thousands of phishing emails are anime-themed
- The victims are mostly Gen Z’ers
- Anime has never been this popular
Hackers are increasingly disguising malware as anime shows, taking advantage of the rising popularity of the Japanese animation format.
This is according to cybersecurity researchers Kaspersky, who analyzed phishing attacks occurring between Q2 2024 and Q1 2025, and found more than 250,000 being anime-themed.
Anime is a style of animated entertainment, first made in Japan. It spans TV series, films, and other adjacent formats. Kaspersky claims the format has never been as popular as it is today, among the Gen Z’ers (those born roughly in the early 2000’s).
Exclusive access to… malware
Apparently, two-thirds of the generation (65%) regularly watch anime, which has never been the case before. Not only that, but they also “connect to the characters,” the researcher said, and become “emotionally invested” in the shows.
That makes them quite susceptible to anime-themed phishing. Naruto seems to be the number one choice among threat actors, with roughly 114,000 attempted attacks. Demon Slayer was second with 44,000, followed by Attack on Titan, One Piece, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
The criminals are usually promising “exclusive episodes”, “leaked scenes”, or “premium access”, in order to get the victims to click on links, download malware, or share sensitive information.
While anime most certainly works well, it’s not the only thing hackers are using to target Gen Z’ers. Shrek, Stranger Things, Twilight, Inside Out, and Deadpool & Wolverine, are all popular choices, accounting for more than 43,000 attack attempts. There was a notable spike in early 2025, too, coinciding with the latest release of the Shrek trailer.
As usual, Kaspersky is warning everyone that things sounding too good to be true – usually end up being just that. Those interested in watching the latest shows should sign up for well-established, reputable streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+, and not resort to pirated or otherwise questionable sources.