Phishing Activity Trends Report

The APWG Phishing Activity Trends Report analyzes phishing attacks and other identity theft techniques, as reported to the APWG by its member companies, its Global Research Partners, through the organization’s website at http://www.apwg.org, and by e-mail submissions to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. APWG measures the evolution, proliferation, and propagation of identity theft methods by drawing from the research of our member companies and industry experts.

Phishing is a crime employing both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers’ personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social engineering schemes prey on unwary victims by fooling them into believing they are dealing with a trusted, legitimate party, such as by using deceptive email addresses and email messages. These are designed to lead consumers to counterfeit Web sites that trick recipients into divulging financial data such as usernames and passwords. Technical subterfuge schemes plant malware onto computers to steal credentials directly, often using systems that intercept consumers’ account user names and passwords or misdirect consumers to counterfeit Web sites.

 

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