The common amount of cash requested in enterprise e mail compromise (BEC) assaults spiked to $128,980 within the fourth quarter of 2024, in keeping with the Anti-Phishing Working Group’s (APWG’s) newest report.
That is almost double the quantity requested throughout Q3 2024. The researchers discovered that Gmail accounts have been used to launch 81 % of BEC scams final quarter.
The report additionally warns of a surge in SMS phishing scams impersonating toll operators within the US, pushed by a preferred Chinese language phishing package.
“Residents of america are being bombarded with textual content messages from Chinese language phishers, purporting to come back from U.S. toll highway operators, together with the multi-state EZPass system,” the researchers write. “The messages warn recipients that they face fines or lack of their driving license in the event that they don’t pay their tolls on-line.
Researchers have discovered that this ‘smishing’ (SMS phishing) is enabled by an upgraded phishing package offered in China, which makes it easy to ship textual content messages and launch phishing websites that spoof toll highway operators in a number of U.S. states. The cellphone numbers that the phishers ship the messages to are often random—they’re generally despatched to individuals who don’t use toll roads in any respect, or goal customers within the unsuitable state.”
The APWG members noticed just below one million phishing assaults in This fall 2024, indicating a gradual improve over the course of the yr. The SAAS/Webmail class was essentially the most often attacked sector, accounting for 23.3 % of all phishing assaults. Social media got here in second, with 22.5% of phishing assaults.
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The APWG has the story.
