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Phishing hit record levels in June, according to new numbers released this week by the Anti-Phishing Working Group, though the group cautions that the increase was caused in large part by new data sources that drove up the sample size. The number of unique reports of phishing attacks hit 28,571 in June, up from 20,109 in May and nearly double the number in June 2005. The APWG says this is the “most ever recorded” by the consortium of software firms, payment processors, and law-enforcement agencies, which began tracking the online fraud in the fall of 2003. By contrast, the number of unique sites generating phishing attacks fell to 9,255 from a record 11,976 found in May. Still, the June population of phishing sites was more than twice the number a year earlier. The number of companies whose brands were hijacked by phishing fraudsters hit 130, down somewhat from May's tally but still the second-highest number registered by the APWG. As in past months, most of these brands are in the financial-services sector, which was targeted by 93.1% of all attacks. Internet service providers sustained 3.1% of attacks, while retailers were targeted by 1.5%. While the number of unique applications of malware?the malicious code fraudsters use to steal passwords, PINs, and other data as users enter them?fell in June to 212, this was down only slightly from a record 215 in May. And the group found the number of sites hosting such malware soared to 2,945, up from 2,100 in May and a new record. By contrast, the number of such sites a year earlier was just 526. The increase in phishing attacks?in which fraudsters use e-mail messages featuring faked logos of trusted brands to induce recipients to give up key information?has caused online banking and retailing experts to fear that the fraud could weaken consumer confidence in the Internet as a transaction channel. It has also in part led to recent moves, such as a federal guidance pushing banks to adopt strong authentication, to shore up online defenses.
