The Hindu Business Line : Phishing on the rise, alerts study

E-mail fraud related to online banking, termed as `phishing', is set to surge in the coming months, eroding consumer trust and sullying financial institutions' reputation, a latest report says.

According to the report by The Radicati Group Inc, a US-based consulting and market research firm, the number of unique phishing attacks worldwide would grow by 115 per cent to 110 attacks a day by 2005 from 51 in 2004.

By 2008, the number of unique phishing attacks would rise to 404 a day from 295 a day in 2007, the Radicati Group forecasts.

In phishing attacks, fraudsters send e-mails and fake Web pages of banks to unsuspecting customers, asking them to disclose their account information and passwords. The mail threatens users that their accounts would be deactivated unless they give out the information.

Recently, ICICI Bank customers received such mails, signalling that phishers are now targeting banks in countries such as India. No financial loss was reported in this attack.

Such attacks are were more prevalent in the US, where reputed banks such as Citibank and online shopping sites like eBay are often targeted.

Currently anti-phishing and other anti-fraud software solutions are still at a nascent stage.

"Today, the e-mail anti-phishing market consists of a `hodgepodge' of vendors including anti-spam, e-mail content security, anti-fraud, identity management, authentication vendors and many others," the report says.

The total market for anti-phishing and anti-fraud solutions is expected to touch $202 million in 2004, and $880 million by 2008.

Even as awareness about phishing increases among online banking customers and more tools are developed, phishers are also growing in sophistication, making it difficult for users to distinguish between phishing e-mails and genuine communication from banks.

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Phishing on the rise, alerts study

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