Phishing is the term referring to websites and emails that are deliberately set up in order to steal personal information and details from the unsuspecting. These tend to appear as though they come from legitimate, well known and trusted businesses in order to grab the attention of the recipient such as government agencies and banks. The fraudsters who run these sites, scam the user into disclosing personal financial information as well as their user names and passwords in order to gain access to their accounts.
THE FACTS
Since 2003, law enforcement authorities, businesses and Internet users have seen a significant increase in the use of phishing. A growing number of phishing schemes are using the names and logos of legitimate financial institutions, businesses and government agencies in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region for illegal purposes. According to one industry organization in the United States, the Anti-Phishing Working Group, there were 1,974 unique phishing attacks reported in July 2004 – an increase of more than 1,100 percent over the number of reported phishing attacks in January 2004.
Data courtesy of Public Safety Canada
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