Global losses from phishing scams hit $1bn

Global financial losses from phishing attacks (a particular type of online scam) have hit $1bn during the 12-month period of July 2010 to June 2011.Phishing is an online scam that uses email to "fish" for users private information by imitating legitimate companies and cybercriminals use it to lure people to share personal information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, among others.Typically, a "phishing attack" is an email masquerading as a message from a trusted source such as bank, credit card company and e-commerce retailer, among others. A phishing email usually contains a link to an illegitimate site.The October Fraud Report of RSA, the security division of EMC, revealed that over $520m was lost globally to phishing in the first half of 2011.The report specifically estimated the losses incurred from phishing attacks during the 12-month period at nearly $1bn.
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