2010-02-01
Abstract
Reports show phishing attacks and 419 scams are on the rise, and users continue to fall for such scams.
Copyright © 2010 Virus Bulletin
According to RSA’s online fraud report for January, the number of phishing attacks identified in December was three per cent higher than in the previous month. RSA reported that, despite an apparent increase in user awareness – with 76% of respondents saying that they are familiar with phishing – the number of users that have fallen victim to a phishing attack is also on the rise. In the company’s 2007 survey, five per cent of respondents admitted that they had been a victim of a phishing attack, whereas in 2009, that figure had risen to 29%. Meanwhile, research and investigation company Ultrascan claims that 2009 saw the highest ever annual losses from 419 fraud. The company – which collects its figures based on cases it has analysed – estimates that victims around the world lost US$9.3 billion last year – a rise from $6.3 billion in 2008.
These reports come as in the UK the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is set to launch a scam awareness month, dubbed ‘Scamnesty 2010’, aiming to provide consumers with information and advice on how to identify scams and how to protect themselves. The campaign, which will run throughout February, will encourage consumers to deposit suspected scam letters in special amnesty bins in public places around the country, and to forward email scams to an ‘email bin’. The campaign website (http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ scamnesty/) also provides examples of scam websites and advises consumers as to how to identify such sites as fake.
