70 Percent of Brits Targeted By Phishing Scams
Over 70 percent of Brits have been targeted by phishing scams in the last year, says CPP.
Tue, June 09, 2009
PC Advisor (UK) — Over 70 percent of Brits have been targeted by phishing scams in the last year, says CPP.
According to the life assistance company, 70 percent of web users have received fake pleas for money while 67 percent have been identified as winners of competitions only to find out later they are bogus.
CPP also said that 60 percent of Brits received more spam than ever before while the APACS, the UK's Payments Association, revealed that online banking fraud accounted for losses of £52.5m in 2008, a 13 percent increase on 2007 losses.
"Cyber criminals now operate in very sophisticated ways. Although we are seeing very high levels of phishing email attacks asking for passwords and account details, we are now seeing more 'malware' attacks such as key-logging, where fraudsters can read what you type on your computer to capture your passwords and other sensitive financial information without you even knowing," said Michael Lynch, identity fraud expert at CPP.
"People need to be vigilant and make sure that they have the proper security in place such as up-to-date anti-virus software."
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