I am often asked: What is the most challenging threat I face on a daily basis? I would have to say that it is educating people on the various methods of social engineering and the impact they can have on your life. I think this comes from the fact people just want to believe in other people and do not want see the potential of something bad. These “Phishing” scams have only one purpose; they are used it to get your information and then use the information to their advantage (and your disadvantage).

Why is this so difficult? Because it is an ever changing target as the people who run these scams change their tactics on a daily basis. So it is best to learn the tactics they use so you will be able to better recognize them and avoid becoming a victim.

We can protect the computers and the network with all of the wiz bang techniques but it all fails if you say yes to one phishing email.

The following facts were taken from the SonicWALL Phishing and Spam IQ site, please take the quiz and don’t forget to let me know how you did. Take the quiz at SonicWALL Phishing and Spam IQ web site.

Phishing Facts

  • $886 – The average dollar loss per Phishing Victim (Gartner, Dec 17, 2007)
  • $3.6 Billion – The total dollar loss of all phishing victims over a 1 year period (Gartner, Dec 17, 2007)
  • 3.2 Million – The number of people who fell victims to phishing scams over that same 1 year period (Gartner, Dec 17, 2007)
  • 8.5 Billion – The estimated number of phishing emails sent world-wide each month (SonicWALL, 2008)
  • 32,414 – The number of phishing web sites that were operational in May 2008 (Anti-Phishing Working Group)

Phishing IQ Facts

  • 1,012,000 – The number of people who have taken the Phishing IQ Test worldwide
  • 7.4% – The percentage of test takers who get 100% by answering all 10 questions correctly
  • 86% – The percentage of phishing e-mails that are identifies as “phish” by the test takers
  • 57% – The percentage of legitimate e-mails that are identified as “legitimate” by the test takers

 

How do you protect yourself from phishing attacks? By educating yourself on the phishing warning signs and then deleting the email you suspect of phishing.