Phishing websites bag $3 bn in China
Date of Publishing:17/01/2011
Location:Mumbai
Beijing: The number of phishing websites in China multiplied 10 times to 1.75 million and targeted around 44 million internet users in 2010, a report quoting a leading Chinese computer security service providers' estimates said.
The phishers defrauded online banking customers, administrators of websites gamblers and made around $3 billion.
"Operators of phishing sites used communications flowing in from online payment processors and site administrators to commit fraud by pretending to be reliable entities to obtain passwords and credit card details, the report said.
The report described rapid increase in e-commerce as the reason behind the phishing surge. E-commerce transactions in China rose by 22% in 2010 and online retailer, Taobao.com, saw almost 100% growth in 2010.
Experts say security awareness has not grown as rapidly as the growth of e-commerce making online business vulnerable to computer viruses and phishing.
Web Resource for Reference of the Above Mentioned Article: