CircleID

The MarkMonitor fourth quarter 2010 Fraud Intelligence Report is now available. The headline findings are:

Phishing Attacks Continue to Decline, Decreasing a Fifth – Phish attack volume declined 19% from the previous quarter to 85,494 attacks.

The Number of Organizations Targeted Shows Little Change – The number of targeted organizations declined 1% from the third quarter to 462.

Attacks per Organization Continue to Decline – Attacks per organization declined 18% from Q3 2010 to 185.

Financial Sector Extends Lead as Most Popular Phishing Sector – The Financial sector accounted for 55% of phish attacks in the fourth quarter of 2010, while the Payment Services sector accounted for 25%.

Phishing Drops Off in Classifieds Sector – Phish targeting the Classifieds sector declined 90% from the previous quarter to 1,350 attacks. It appears that what was emerging as a major new phishing sector is returning to a historically lower level of activity.

Phishing Attacks Targeting South African Brands Grow – Attacks targeting South African brands grew 68% from the previous quarter. However, North American brands continued to attract the lion's share of attacks, accounting for 76% of phishing attacks in the fourth quarter. Western European brands accounted for 14% of phish.

Phishing Attacks Hosted in the Netherlands and Malaysia Grow – In the fourth quarter, phish hosted in the Netherlands grew almost 250% and phish hosted in Malaysia grew over 230%. As with targeted brands, however, North America hosts the majority of phishing attacks, with 58% of total attacks in the fourth quarter. Western Europe followed, hosting 21% of phishing attacks in the same period.

For more detail, download the report here: MarkMonitor Fraud Intelligence Report, Q4 2010

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Related topics: Cybercrime, Law, Security