CircleID

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

Phishing Attacks Increased Substantially from Previous Quarter – Phish attack volume jumped 25% from the previous quarter to 130,065 attacks.

Brands Targeted Returned to Growth – The number of targeted brands reversed its decline and increased 6% from the third quarter to 517.

Attacks per Brand Continued to Grow – Attacks per brand volume grew 18% from Q3 2011 to 252.

Financial Sector Phish Grew Further – The Financial sector continued to be the most phished industry, accounting for 41% of phish attacks. Financial sector phish increased 15% from the previous quarter to 53,049 attacks and was up 13% from a year ago.

Retail Sector Displaced Payment Services as Second Most Popular Phishing Sector – The Retail/Service sector, with 26% of phish in the fourth quarter, surpassed the Payment Services sector to become the second most phished industry. Retail/Service phishing accelerated its already rapid rise, growing 130% to 33,497 attacks. The Payment Services sector accounted for 16% of phish.

American and Chinese Brands Targeted by Almost 3/4 of Phishing Attacks – American brands accounted for 48% of phishing attacks, followed by Chinese brands with 25% of phish. The U.K. trailed with 7% of phish and Brazil with 6%. Spain rounded out the top 5 countries with 3.6% of phish in the fourth quarter. Phishing attacks also targeted brands in South Africa, Canada and Italy.

United States and Hong Kong Host Close to 2/3 of Phishing Attacks – Phish hosted in the U.S. accounted for 51% of phishing attacks, while Hong Kong accounted for 11%. The remaining countries that round out the top 5 hosting countries, Germany, the U.K. and Canada, hosted 4% to 3.5% of attacks. Other important hosting countries included Brazil, the Netherlands, China, Australia and Russia.

Phish Attacks by Industry Sectors – Q4 201

For more detail, download the report here: MarkMonitor Fraud Intelligence Report, Q4 2011

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