Although the crime of phishing originated in 1996 as hackers attempted to use impostor e-mails to obtain the passwords of America Online (AOL) users, it did not gain market notoriety until late 2003, when the number of phishing scams began to increase rapidly. Australia was one of the first markets targeted but similar episodes quickly spread to other markets, predominantly the US and UK.
TowerGroup believes that the true level and mix of phishing attacks is under-reported because much of the data is typically self-reported. The true number of phishing attacks will reach nearly 31,300 in 2004 and rise to more than 86,000 in 2005 as the phenomenon spreads to smaller institutions, new merchant/service-provider categories and new global markets.
Moreover, about 80% of the current phishing attacks – an expected total of more than 25,000 attacks in 2004 – are directed at financial institutions’ brands. TowerGroup expects this ratio to hold for the near term into 2005.
Jim Eckenrode, vice-president Consumer Banking, TowerGroup
