Phishers net more victims during 2007

A new survey conducted by Gartner has found that the number of successful phishing attacks in 2007 rose, although the average amount lost per consumer decreased.

by Helen Leggatt

In the 12 months ending August, 2007, 3.6 million online adults in the U.S. lost $3.2 billion as a result of phishing attacks, up from 2.3 million affected in the same period last year and 2.9 million in 2005.

The fraudsters are improving with more people being taken in than last year. The number of people targeted who went on to be affected or lose money rose from 2.3 percent year ending August, 2006, to 3.3 percent year ending August, 2007, reports Gartner.

Of those that lost money to phishers, almost half had used a debit or check card, 32 percent had used a credit card and around a quarter used a bank account.

"Enterprises should at least protect their own brands from being used in phishing attacks by subscribing to an anti-phishing solution," said Avivah Litan, VP at Gartner. "Similarly, companies should subscribe to anti-malware services that detect malware targeting the firm's customers, and prevent it from spreading across consumer desktops.”

On the bright side, if there is one, the average amount lost per attack was down from $1,244 in 2006, to $866 in 2007, and more adults recovered larger amounts of their losses in 2007.