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Phishing is on the increase

The number of cases of phishing, when cybercriminals try and obtain unsuspecting web users' bank details, are on the increase, it has been claimed.

According to new research by UK payment association APACS, the number of different types of phishing emails reached 14,369 in the first quarter of this year.

This is an increase of 4,134 when compared with figures from the same period last year.

APACS claims that despite the proliferation of anti-spam software, the number of phishing emails sent every year is "comfortably into the tens of billions".

Most of the emails are designed to look like official correspondence from a bank and request that a "customer" confirms their pin or account number.

Commenting on the situation, Mark O'Dell, operations director at Connect Support Services, said: "The economic downturn has seen a significant increase in the amount of spam and fraudulent emails and viruses."

According to IT industry expert Graham Cluley, Macs are not immune to viruses and their users should be wary of what they download.

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