Phishing websites on the rise, targeting retail

Dave Jevans, vice-president of mobile security at Proofpoint, sits on the board of APWG. He comments: “Globally, attackers using phishing techniques have become more aggressive in 2016 with keyloggers that have sophisticated tracking components to target specific information and organizations such as retailers and financial institutions that top the list.”

Other highlights of the phishing trends report are:
– Number of unique phishing websites in March – 123,555
– Number of unique phishing email reports received from consumers by APWG in March – 229,265
– Number of brands targeted by phishing campaigns in March – 418

According to APWG, Canada was found to host less than one per cent of phishing sites, while the United States was found to have hosted about 82 per cent of phishing sites in February. Canada was also found to have hosted phishing-based Trojans and downloaders in February, with 2.8 per cent, while the U.S. was found to have hosted 71.5 per cent.

APWG is holding its annual Symposium on Electronic Crime Research eCrime 2016 in Toronto from June 1-3.