2023 has experienced a surge of phishing and scam campaigns

A new cybersecurity analysis revealed that phishing and scam campaigns have significantly increased at an alarming rate this year. 

There has been a notable rise in phishing websites, with a 62% year-on-year growth. Moreover, scam pages also surged last year to 304% compared to 2021. 

 

Financial institutions hold the top spot for the most targeted sector of phishing and scam campaigns. 

 

Researchers stated that financial institutions experienced the highest number of attacks from phishing and scam campaigns among the targeted entities. The sector saw 74% of fraud incidents and 24% of phishing attempts. 

Moreover, scammers have become interested in brands from the MEA and APAC regions since both regions faced substantial increases of 211% and 135% in fraudulent resources. 

Most of the scams in APAC and MEA have spread through social media. However, 48% of European fraudulent activities have been propagated via messaging applications. 

These activities have grown in different brands annually, but individual brands suffer the most damaging impact of such campaigns. 

Further reports explained that the rise of automation and social media had caused a sudden increase in phishing and scam activities. Experts believe that this trend will persist soon because of the introduction of AI text generators that attracts numerous individuals. 

Scammers employ numerous domains and social media accounts to reach more potential victims and bypass security solutions. This strategy enables these threat actors to develop countermeasures to avoid cybersecurity defences. 

In other reports, security researchers uncovered a surge in mobile Android Operating System device spoofing tools on the dark web and underground markets. One malicious tool that has attracted cybercriminals is called Enclave Service. 

The device could mimic mobile device fingerprints and other parameters to analyse anti-fraud systems. Researchers claimed that this tool will still improve its capabilities soon. 

While targeting financial institutions, the sudden spike in scam pages and phishing websites implies that organisations should address these threats urgently. Organisations and individuals should enhance their awareness and educate employees and users about phishing and scam tactics to mitigate the risks posed by these threats.