The total U.S. monetary loss to phishing victims is anticipated to be around $500 million, according to a study released September 29 by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by online privacy group TRUSTe.
“This is the first study to objectively estimate the impact of phishing and spoofing on American consumers,” said Ponemon Institute founder Dr. Larry Ponemon, known as a privacy auditor and privacy risk manager. “As we become more educated on the problem, organizations will be better equipped to develop strategies to address these issues.”
Phishing is a scam involving the use of faked Web pages and email using legitimate companies' logos and marks, luring victims into giving up personal financial information to the phishers.
Sampling 1,335 American Netizens, seven of 10 said they unintentionally visited a spoofed Website and over 15 percent of spoofed respondents admitted to giving up such sensitive information as credit numbers, checking account information, and Social Security numbers, the study said, while 2 percent believed they took a monetary hit from a phishing attack and most of those spotted the loss within two weeks of the attack.
New phishing bids spotted in September by the Anti-Phishing Working Group have used spoof pages or e-mails purporting to come from KeyBank, Lloyds TSB, Yahoo, Citbank (a frequent enough spoof for phishers), Verizon, and Washington Mutual Bank, among others.
The TRUSTe/Ponemon study said 64 percent of those responding think it unacceptable for organizations to do little or nothing about phishers spoofing their Web pages and e-mail styles, with 96 percent of the respondents wanting the companies to find or develop new ways to help authenticate email and Web pages. And they also want companies and groups to work with law enforcement to stifle the phish before they spawn.
“Consumers should be cautious when disclosing sensitive information unless they have proactively initiated the online transaction,” said TRUSTe president Fran Maier, announcing the survey findings. "This simple consumer protection message needs to be conveyed through a broader consumer education campaign.”
To file an online privacy complaint, visit the TRUSTe’s consumer Watchdog site at www.truste.org.
For more information about the survey, contact Ponemon Institute at [email protected].
