Kaspersky lists key factors to prevent phishing

Global cybersecurity company, Kaspersky Lab on Wednesday released a report recording patterns of financial phishing abusers during Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales.

It said phishing now accounts for half, roughly 49.77 percent of all phishing attacks, up from 34.33 percent in 2015.

The survey also listed key points for users to follow to prevent such attacks. These are:

· Do not click on any links received from unknown sources or links that look suspicious.

· Do not use insecure public Wi-Fi networks to make online payments, as hotspots can easily be hacked in order to listen to user traffic and steal confidential information.

· Do not enter credit card details on unfamiliar or suspicious sites. Always double-check whether webpage is genuine before entering personal information as fake websites may look just like real ones.

· Mobile-first consumers likely to be key drivers behind rise in financial phishing. Use of smartphones for online banking, payment, and shopping has doubled in last year, says the 2017 Kaspersky Cybersecurity Index.

· Financial phishers exploiting Black Friday name in attacks, disguising attack messages as security alerts.

· Consumers significantly safer on 'Grey Saturday' when number of phishing attacks drops by up to a third despite it being a top shopping day.

The report further states that the annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales offer incredible opportunities, but they are also peak days for financial phishing attacks.

Grey Saturday was identified during Kaspersky Lab's annual review of new financial phishing attacks detected during the holiday sales season.

Kaspersky Lab's review found signs of Grey Saturday attack dips in both 2016 and 2015.

In 2016 there was a decline of 33 percent in the number of attacks using popular online retail and payment brands (from around 770,000 to 510,000 detections), despite it being the second biggest shopping day in some countries, such as the U.S.

Traditionally distributed by email, phishing attacks now also lure consumers through weblinks, banners, social media and more, persuading them to part with their personal financial data in the belief they are dealing with a reputable, known brand.