News19,135 Articles

October 2, 2008

Online banking fraud losses hit £21.4m

Figures for first half of 2008 up by 185 percent

Carrie-Ann Skinner

Losses from online banking fraud hit a record £21.4m in the first half of 2008 - an increase of 185 percent on the previous year, says APACS.

According to the UK payments association, phishing attacks are to blame for the surge. In the first six months of 2007, 7,224 successful phishing attacks were recorded but this dramatically increased to more than 20,000 in the first half of this year.

"The increase is largely due to criminals targeting online banking customers through phishing and spyware scams - because the banks' own systems have proved difficult to attack," APACS claims.

However, the association warned that the losses "need to be seen in the context of increasing numbers of online retailers and ever-growing numbers of online transactions".

"From 2001 to 2007 this type of fraud went up by 204 percent while, over the same time period, the value of online shopping card transactions alone increased by 415 percent."

SEE ALSO: Your bank doesn't care if you get ripped off

Visit Security Advisor for the latest internet threat news, FREE net threat email newsletters, and internet security product reviews

Free whitepaper: Phishing for victims - Truth, myth and cybercrime

<<newer story | back to index | older story>>

Comments received


Dragon said on Thursday, 02 October 2008

As for Phishing scams, IE7 warns you of known phishing sites and gives you the opportunity to report them. Windows Mail also warns you if an email is from a known phishing site.
I was surprised to read recently that some people would divulge passwords if offered £5. There's one born every minute.

What is this?

Subscribe to PC Advisor now and claim your FREE gift

Keep up to date by adding PC Advisor News to your iGoogle home page or Google Reader


Question of the day!

Does your smartphone replace your need for a laptop when on the move?

Question of the day!

Does your smartphone replace your need for a laptop when on the move?

% of PC Advisor readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

What tasks can your smartphone do that would have traditionally been done on a laptop?

119 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @SmartphoneFocus

web browsing, search facilities, voip, email, word processing everything RT @Graham_D_C

Mainly email but getting better at spreadsheets etc, RT @IDGdan
Google


Recent reviews

Reviews index


Latest reader comments

Latest reader comments


Top news

News index


Latest blog entries

Blogs index


 Our RSS feeds

Sponsored Content

  • Take the internet to new places with the Nokia N800
    Communicate how you want to, where you want to with instant messaging, email and internet calling. View movies, browse the internet wirelessly and watch TV on the high-resolution screen and listen through high-quality stereo speakers with headphone jack.
    Buy now