Online Fraud Increased 185% in the UK During H1 2008

Apacs, the payment industry association, said that this year (2008) online banking fraud in the UK multiplied twofold with losses touching record figures.

Apacs claimed that the money lost to cyber crooks attacking online banking users increased 185% during the first half of 2008 as the spyware scams and phishing attacks multiplied.

Also, the number of phishing cases, where cyber crooks imitate authentic banks' sites to deceive users into revealing their account information, has increased 4 times during the last two years (2006-2008), from 5,087 in the first half of 2006 to 20,682 till now. The total estimated losses to the banking industry were £21.4 Million from January to June 2008, as compared to £7.5 Million in the same period last year (2007).

Security experts warn that the online banking users should be extra cautious as the scammers using sophisticated techniques and phishing sites appear genuine and convincing.

A Spokesman from Apacs said that the phishing sites have started looking more convincing and authentic. In 2006, they were easy to detect as they contained many spelling and grammatical errors. Now, the sites really appear genuine, as reported by TimesOnline on October 1, 2008.

He has also informed that there are several banks which have decided not to refund on the premises that if they go extra length to caution users about phishing sites, then it is the fault of the users if they are trapped.

Further, Apacs has added that there are numerous evidences of apprehensions among the banks not to refund in incidents where users have been deceived by phishing scams, so the users have to bear all the expenditures themselves.

Meanwhile, Apacs said that the fraud incidents abroad have increased 190% during the past three years (since 2005) to £121.2 Million.

The Director of Apacs, Sandra Quinn, added that to control online fraud, it is recommended to users that they should safeguard their system with latest anti-virus software and should access protected sites and take membership of MasterCard SecureCode and checked by Visa, as reported by TimesOnline on October 1, 2008.

Related article: Online Card Fraud Shows Greater Tendency Than Chip and Pin

» SPAMfighter News - 10/8/2008