Phishing in Ireland Surging with Increasing Online Banking

According to the Online Personal Banking report of IPSO (Irish Payment Services Organization)/IBF (Irish Banking Federation), there had been a 31.6% rise in Internet transactions during last year (2008) and these transactions numbered to a total of 30.7 Million. The rise showed a consistent trend as 100,000 fresh customers signed up in every quarter from 2007 to the end of 2008.

However, due to this increase in Internet banking in Ireland, as per the report of Independent.ie, phishing attacks surged at the rate of 150%, with certain bank customers suffering a complete loss of funds from their accounts that phishers stole.

These customers complain that a large amount of money amounting to 30,000 Euros were lost from their Internet accounts as phishers with their stealthy tactics gained access to the customers' operating codes in 2008.

In 2006, IPSO itself had predicted that phishing scams would target more consumers in the succeeding year of 2007, which in fact happened. Therefore, as online banking has been growing, there is a simultaneous increase in Internet scammers, especially phishers, who with their new phishing techniques have been snatching people's hard-earned cash.

In this context, Una Dillon, Head of Card Services and Communications at IPSO, said that phishing attacks surged in 2008. Independent.ie published this on April 2, 2009.

Dillon further said that during 2007, 25 successful phishing attacks took place that resulted in a total loss of 400,000 Euros in the region. During 2008, phishers attempted 5,000 attacks, out of which 63 attempts were successful with an estimated loss of 220,000 Euros to the Irish banks. This clearly suggests that phishers successfully invaded the security of the Irish banks' websites with relative success, several times during 2008.

Besides Una, Pat Farrell Chief Executive of IBF comments that the figures from IPSO's report delineates a perfect picture of the total number of phishing assaults that targeted the region's people over a period of time. Business World reported this on April 1, 2009.

In the meantime, according to earlier reports, some of the leading banks that phishers successfully targeted during 2008 are Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Ireland, and Allied Irish Bank, to name a few.

Related article: Phishing With A Redirector Code

» SPAMfighter News - 4/9/2009