Pinoys, local banks warned of rising “phishing” attacks

CEBU, Philippines - Kaspersky Lab warns Filipinos and local banks of the increasing threats of financial cyber attacks.

A recent study conducted by Kaspersky Lab dubbed "Financial cyber threats in 2013,"  revealed that cybercriminals around the world are trying harder than ever to acquire confidential user data and steal money from bank accounts by creating fake sites and web pages imitating financial organizations or internet resources.

The study revealed that this fraudulent scheme more popularly known as "phishing," targeted more financial institutions in 2013, when the number of attacks on banking sites, online stores and e-payment systems rose to 31.45 percent from the 22.95 percent recorded in 2012.

Phishing, a conscious misspelling of the word "fishing", is a form of cyber crime which involves stealing confidential data from a user's computer and subsequently using the data to steal the user's money.

Kaspersky Lab noted that phishing attacks are more popular with scammers because they threaten all devices which can access web pages.

Kaspersky Lab senior security researcher Sergey Lozhkin said that Phishing attacks are so popular because they are simple to deploy and extremely effective.

"It is often not easy for even advanced Internet users to distinguish a well-designed fraudulent site from a legitimate page, which makes it even more important to install a specialized protection solution," said Lozhkin.

He further warned that phishing causes reputational and financial damage to organizations that see their brands exploited in the cyber attacks.

Phishing has become a worrying trend as more banks are under attack.

To get a big profit, phishing sites aimed at getting users' financial details mainly use the brand names of e-payment systems and online banking systems as well as popular companies and online stores.

Among e-payment systems, the "favorite" targets of phishers has involved one of these four international brands: PayPal, American Express, Master Card and Visa. For several years, the names of online stores which were the most popular covers for phishing attacks worldwide were Amazon, Apple and Ebay.

In 2013, the most attractive targets were banks, which were used in 70.6 percent of all financial phishing activities, a sharp increase from the 52 percent recorded in 2012.

Overall, the number of phishing attacks targeting banks almost doubled from 11.92 percent in 2012 to 22.2 percent in 2013. On the other hand, the number of attacks on online stores increased in significantly by 8.5 percentage points while those targeting payment systems dropped by 2.63 percentage points.

"The conclusion here is obvious: the attackers are increasingly focusing on bank web services and this is one of the strongest trends in the area of phishing threats," the study said.

The findings of the Kaspersky Lab study are timely for a country like the Philippines where banks have capitalized on the use of e-banking technology to provide fast, efficient and reliable services.

In a status report last year, the BangkoSentral ng Pilipinas said banks have responded well to market innovations with the growth in e-banking platforms.

In recent years, BSP said these platforms have widely evolved from automated teller machine  networks, internet banking and mobile phone banking to the more sophisticated use of e-money instruments such as cash/remittance cards and electronic wallet which are accessible via mobile phones or other portable devices like tablets.

As of June 2013, the BSP data show that there are 74 banks with an ATM network, 62 banks are offering electronic wallet, 29 banks with cash/remittance card products, 43 banks with internet banking, 16 banks offering phone banking, 30 banks engaged in mobile banking and 35 with hybrid mobile/internet banking services. (FREEMAN)