Your identity is worth at least £14,500 to internet criminals according to the UKs Get Safe Online report. Now with the publication of the Anti Phishing Working Group's (APWG) 2009 Phishing Report for the first half of 2009 reporting that phishing attacks targeting banking and financial fraud are on the rise, you are even more at risk.
Online Banking: Hitting you where it hurts
Banking trojan infections detected by APWG almost tripled (up 186 per cent) between Q4 2008 and Q2 2009. APWG also report that Payment Services, like PayPal, moved into the top position of targeted industry sectors in Q1 2009. This placed them above Financial Services for the first time since APWG began tracking the proportions of phishing attacks directed at each industry sector.
The proportion of phishing campaigns directed against the Payment Services sector continued increasing through Q2, up some 16 percent from quarter to quarter, while the Financial Services sector’s proportion dropped more than 10 percent during the same period.
What is certain from this trend is that where there is money changing hands, you will find online criminals. What is more, as most financial transactions online involve the sharing of login information and personal information the risks of your identity being compromised increase exponentially if you are unprotected.
You are at risk if . . . .
You are at risk if you use financial institution's online facilities, online retailers, and e-information like web based email, social networks or any other service that requires you to log-in or verify yourself by providing personal information.
Phishing based‐commerce merchants are targeted in order to collect information on the end‐user in order to steal those usersʹ credentials, compromise their identities and use the information gained to steal money and obtain service fraudulently. It's the equivalent of taking your credit card on a shopping spree to New York without you being there!
Protect your PC and your Identity
Ensure your PC and your Identity is secure by doing a 'SAFE' check:
S = Spyware - run an anti-spyware programme
A = Anti-virus - get state of the art internet security protection
F = Firewall - have a firewall and make sure it's switched on
E = Ensure your operating system is updated
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