TABLE OF CONTENTS


Creating effective phishing simulation emails is essential for testing and improving the cybersecurity awareness of your organization's employees. A key aspect of crafting realistic phishing emails is personalization, which can be achieved through the use of dynamic placeholders. This article will guide you on how to utilize placeholders, formatted as {{fake_[type]}}, to generate personalized content for your phishing simulation campaigns. These placeholders can be easily integrated into your email templates and are replaced with randomly generated, realistic data when the emails are sent out. 


Placeholder Types and Usage


Below, we describe the available placeholder types along with their optional parameters, demonstrating how they can be incorporated into your phishing simulation emails.



Avatar

  • Placeholder: {{fake_avatar}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_avatar}}
  • Text Value: A URL to a random avatar image.


Alpha

  • Placeholder: {{fake_alpha([len])}}
  • Options: len - length of the generated string.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_alpha(5)}} → ABCDE


Alpha Numeric

  • Placeholder: {{fake_alpha_numeric([len])}}
  • Options: len - length of the generated string.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_alpha_numeric(6)}} → A1B2C3


First Name

  • Placeholder: {{fake_first_name}} or {{fake_first_name([sex])}}
  • Options: sex - m for male, f for female.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_first_name}} → John
    • {{fake_first_name}} → Jane
    • {{fake_first_name(m)}} → James


Last Name

  • Placeholder: {{fake_last_name}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_last_name}}
  • Text Value: Bond


Full Name

  • Placeholder: {{fake_full_name}} or {{fake_full_name([sex])}}
  • Options: sex - m for male, f for female.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_full_name}} → John Doe
    • {{fake_full_name(f)}} → Jane Doe


Job Title

  • Placeholder: {{fake_job_title}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_job_title}} → Project Manager


Person Prefix

  • Placeholder: {{fake_person_prefix}} or {{fake_person_prefix([sex])}}
  • Options: sex - m for male, f for female.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_person_prefix}} → Ms.
    • {{fake_person_prefix(m)}} → Mr.


Business Name

  1. Placeholder: {{fake_business_name}}
  2. Options: None.
  3. Example: {{fake_business_name}} → Tech Innovations LLC


Address

  • Placeholder: {{fake_address}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_address}} → 123 Main St, Springfield


City

  • Placeholder: {{fake_city}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_city}} → Springfield


Country

  • Placeholder: {{fake_country}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_country}} → United States


Country Code

  • Placeholder: {{fake_country_code}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_country_code}} → US


State

  • Placeholder: {{fake_state}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_state}} → Illinois


Street

  • Placeholder: {{fake_street}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_street}} → Liberty Ave


Zip

  • Placeholder: {{fake_zip}}
  • Options: None.
  • Example: {{fake_zip}} →  12345


Amount

  • Placeholder: {{fake_amount}} or {{fake_amount([max],[sym],[min])}}
  • Options: max - maximum value, sym - currency symbol, min - minimum value.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_amount}} → $1,234.56
    • {{fake_amount(1000,100)}} → $500.00
    • {{fake_amount(min:10,max:100,sym:€)}} → 30.00€


Card Number

  • Placeholder: {{fake_card_number}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_card_number}} → 1234 5678 9012 3456


Card CVV

  • Placeholder: {{fake_card_cvv}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_card_cvv}} → 123


IBAN

  • Placeholder: {{fake_iban}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_iban}} → DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00


Transaction Type

  • Placeholder: {{fake_trans_type}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_trans_type}} → Deposit


Transaction Description

  • Placeholder: {{fake_trans_desc}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_trans_desc}} → Payment for Invoice #1234


Domain

  • Placeholder: {{fake_domain}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_domain}} → example.com


Email


IP

  • Placeholder: {{fake_ip}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_ip}} → 192.168.1.1


IPv4

  • Placeholder: {{fake_ip4}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_ip4}} → 192.168.1.1


IPv6

  • Placeholder: {{fake_ip6}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_ip6}} → 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334


MAC Address

  • Placeholder: {{fake_mac}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_mac}} → 00:1B:44:11:3A:B7


Password

  • Placeholder: {{fake_password}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_password}} → Abc123!


Phone Number

  • Placeholder: {{fake_phone}}
  • Options: None.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_phone}} → +40 712 345 678


Number


  • Placeholder: {{fake_number}} or {{fake_number([max],[min])}}
  • Options: max - maximum value, min - minimum value.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_number}} → 42
    • {{fake_number(100,10)}} → 55


Float

  • Placeholder: {{fake_float}} or {{fake_float([max],[min],[dec])}}
  • Options: dec - number of decimal places, max - maximum value, min - minimum value.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_float}} → 123.45
    • {{fake_float(100,10)}} → 55.24
    • {{fake_float(max:100,min:10,dec:1)}} → 55.2


Weekday

  • Placeholder: {{fake_weekday}} or {{fake_weekday([abbr])}}
  • Options: abbr - whether to abbreviate the weekday name (true or false).
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_weekday}} → Monday
    • {{fake_weekday(true)}} → Mon


Month

  • Placeholder: {{fake_month}} or {{fake_month([abbr])}}
  • Options: abbr - whether to abbreviate the month name (true or false).
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_month}} → January
    • {{fake_month(true)}} → Jan


Future Date

  • Placeholder: {{fake_future}} or {{fake_future([years],[format])}}
  • Options: years - number of years into the future, format - the formatting of the date.
  • Examples:
  • {{fake_future}} → 2025-01-01
  • {{fake_future(30,LL)}} → December 11th, 2040


Soon Date

  • Placeholder: {{fake_soon}} or {{fake_soon([days],[format])}}
  • Options: days - number of days into the future, but sooner than fake_future.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_soon}}
    • {{fake_soon(5,YYYY-MM)}}


Past Date

  • Placeholder: {{fake_past}} or {{fake_past([years],[format])}}
  • Options: days - number of days into the past, format - the formatting of the date.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_past}} → 2023-12-31
    • {{fake_past(LL)}} → September 4 2000


Recent Date

  • Placeholder: {{fake_recent}} or {{fake_recent([days],[format])}}
  • Options: days - number of days into the past, but more recent than fake_past, format - the formatting of the date.
  • Examples:
    • {{fake_recent}}
    • {{fake_recent(5)}}
    • {{fake_recent(5,LL)}}


Date formats


InputExampleDescription
YYYY20144 or 2 digit year. Note: Only 4 digit can be parsed on strictmode
YY142 digit year
Y-25Year with any number of digits and sign
Q1..4Quarter of year. Sets month to first month in quarter.
M MM1..12Month number
MMM MMMMJan..DecemberMonth name in locale set by moment.locale()
D DD1..31Day of month
Do1st..31stDay of month with ordinal
DDD DDDD1..365Day of year
X1410715640.579Unix timestamp
x1410715640579Unix ms timestamp
InputExampleDescription
L09/04/1986Date (in local format)
LLSeptember 4 1986Month name, day of month, year
LLLSeptember 4 1986 8:30 PMMonth name, day of month, year, time
LLLLThursday, September 4 1986 8:30 PMDay of week, month name, day of month, year, time
LT8:30 PMTime (without seconds)
LTS8:30:00 PMTime (with seconds)


Implementing Placeholders in Your Templates

To use these placeholders, simply insert them into your email template where you want the dynamic content to appear. For example:

  • Email Greeting: "Dear {{user_first_name}},"
  • Urgent Notice: "Your account will be charged {{fake_amount(sym:$)}} unless you cancel your subscription by {{fake_soon(LL)}}."


When your phishing simulation system processes these templates, it will replace the placeholders with randomly generated, realistic data matching the specified criteria. This approach ensures that each recipient receives a unique and personalized email, increasing the realism of the phishing simulation and testing their ability to identify phishing attempts effectively.