Fighting malware and spam

$3.2 billion lost in phishing attacks in 2007

Gartner survey reveals US losses to phishing gangs.

Analyst firm Gartner has estimated that $3.2 billion was lost by 3.6 million US computer users in phishing attacks over the 12 months ending in August 2007.

Gartner arrived at the figures after surveying more than 4,500 US adult computer users. The survey found that, of those users who received phishing emails in 2007, 3.3 per cent lost money - up from 2.3 per cent in the previous year.

The average amount lost per phishing incident actually fell from $1,244 in 2006 to $886 in 2007, but thanks to the increased prevalence of the attacks and a greater number of victims the total losses rose from $2.3 billion to $3.2 billion.

More on the survey can be found in a press release here.

18 December 2007

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