Cybercriminals sent 3.7 billion phishing messages in the last year. The objective of this type of email is to steal money from users who are not very skilled in these conflicts. This is at least the case in the study carried out by CPP, a life insurance company that revealed that 55 percent of phishing attacks pretend to be banks, trying to get Internet users to provide them with their credit card numbers or passwords. electronic banking.
The main phishing strategies also include cases of fake lottery or the Nigerian scam.
But the worst thing is not that, but a quarter of the British have admitted to having fallen for this type of scams, losing, on average, about 285 pounds. Online banking fraud has increased by around 132 percent over the past year. This analysis also highlights that 46 percent of web users are concerned about their credit card details, in case they could be used in illegal purchases on the web.
The CPP study also reflects the rise in social media scams. In the past year, about a fifth of Britons have received fake Facebook messages that appeared to come from friends or family.
One in ten fear that scammers are using Twitter to follow them, while a third are concerned that someone might attack their social media accounts. “It seems like not a day goes by without a new fraud case on the news. But what is more worrying is that consumers continue to fall victim to these types of scams, “said Nicole Sanders, expert in identifying fraud at CPP.
“Scammers are getting smarter and smarter and have better techniques and tactics. Therefore, it can be extremely difficult to distinguish a legitimate email message from a fake one, so we advise everyone to exercise caution whenever they are online. For this reason, Sanders recommends Internet users to be very careful with everything they post on social networks. “Your identity is very valuable to thieves, so it is essential that they protect your personal data.” In addition, it concludes by clarifying that banks never ask for personal information online.
