CircleID

The MarkMonitor Fraud Intelligence Report for the second quarter of 2011 is now available. The findings are:

Phishing Attacks Declined Slightly from Previous Quarter – Phish attack volume declined 3% from the previous quarter to 97,241 attacks.

Organizations Targeted also Declined Slightly – The number of targeted organizations also decreased 3% from the first quarter to 498.

Attacks per Organization Unchanged – Attacks per organization volume was unchanged from Q1 2011 at 195.

Retail Sector Grew to Become Popular Phishing Sector – Retail/Service sector phish increased 413% to 10,159 attacks, accounting for over 10% of total phish in the second quarter. The Financial sector continued to account for 47% of phish with 45,473 attacks, while the Payment Services sector accounted for 25% with 23,923 attacks.

Gaming, Social Networking, and Auction Sectors All Showed Declines – Gaming sector phish declined 22% from the previous quarter to 5,330 attacks. Social Networking sector phish decreased 25% to 3,595 attacks. Auction sector phish dropped 41% to 3,177 attacks.

Phishing Attacks Targeting Chinese Brands Prove Very Popular – Attacks targeting Chinese brands accounted for 10% of phishing last quarter, making China the third most popular country whose brands are targeted by phishing. American brands accounted for 58% of phishing attacks, and British brands saw 15% of phishing attacks. Other important countries whose brands were targeted include Spain, Canada, Brazil, India, and Italy.

Phishing Attacks Hosted in Hong Kong are Most Popular after North American Countries – In the second quarter, phish hosted in Hong Kong accounted for 5% of phish­ing attacks, while the US accounted for 52% and Canada accounted for 6%. Other important countries hosting phish attacks include the UK, Chile, Germany, France, Singapore, Russia, China, and Brazil.

Phish Attacks by Industry Sectors, Q2 2011 – The Financial sector continued to account for 47% of phish attacks in the second quarter of 2011, while the Payment Services sector accounted for 25%. The Retail/Service sector increased to over 10% of total phish last quarter. Online Gaming, Social Networking, and Auctions remained important sectors accounting for 3-6% of total phish attacks. (Source: MarkMonitor)

For more detail, download the full report here [PDF]:
MarkMonitor Fraud Intelligence Report, Q2 2011

About MarkMonitor

MarkMonitor®, the world leader in enterprise brand protection and a Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property & Science business, uses a SaaS delivery model to provide advanced technology and expertise that protects the revenues and reputations of the world's leading brands. (Learn More)

Related topics: Cybercrime, Cybersquatting, Domain Names, Malware, Security, Spam