Cybercrime and Phishing Scams Sweeping China

A wave of cybercrime has swept across China this past week, triggering the Chinese government to mount a counter campaign. Whilst the criminals attempt to steal online banking details, the government has sought expert advice on how to combat the issue. One of the key results, is that phishing sites will now appear below those of legitimate banks in search results.

The personal details of over 45 million Chinese people (almost 10% of China’s online population) were stolen during wave of attacks. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information is investigating the crimes, and has said "The department believes the recent leak of user information is a serious infringement of the rights of internet users and threatens internet safety". The phishing scams work by impersonating a legitimate bank (or similar), and sending messages directing people to the fake sites. Once people visit the fake sites, their login details are taken, and then used by the criminals to steal money from the account.

The way in which the Chinese government fought back was to employ SEO (search engine optimisation) tactics; that is to say ensuring what results users get from searching particular terms online. The Chinese government has managed to get the 10 biggest search engines in China on board the anti-phishing campaign. Furthermore, some of the Chinese search engines are going to introduce an icon, confirming the legitimacy of a site. These two techniques combined should reduce the number of people being tricked and scammed.

Phishing scams are common globally, and are relatively easy to avoid if you follow these simple tips:

-        Beware email messages!!

Look out for emails that claim to be from companies asking you to click-through to update your details or rectify a problem with your account. If you’re unsure about the authenticity of an email, don’t open it and contact the company it claims to be from.

-        Keep an eye on your accounts

Be vigilant for any transactions you don’t recognise. Contact your bank or credit card provider to query a transaction if it looks unfamiliar. You should also contact your bank or credit card provider if your statements fail to arrive. They may have been redirected by a fraudster.

-        Avoid attachments!

Genuine banks will never send emails with attachments.

-        View an example

There is a good example of what a phishing email might look like, with annotations of things to look out for on the Lloyds TSB site.

Up to date information, tips and more can be found on online blogs such as http://fightbankfraud.blogspot.com/

Online UK banking fraud on the down turn

January to June 2011, £16.9m was lost in online banking fraud for UK-issued cards, down from £24.9m in the same period last year, the payments industry trade body said in a statement on Wednesday (PDF). These figures compare favourably to £39m lost between January and June 2009.

Increased computer security awareness from customers, plus banks' use of fraud detection software, have led to this fall, said the UK Cards Association (UKCA). Many banks use behavioural anomaly software that charts suspicious activity on a card.

While losses have fallen, the number of phishing websites targeting UK users has sharply increased. From January to June 2007, UKCA logged 7,224 such websites. Phishing websites frequently get taken down, yet in the same period in 2011 the number had increased to 37,198.

Low-tech card crime such as cheque fraud has grown. Nevertheless, in general, losses from high-tech fraud have been falling, said UKCA. In the half year from the beginning of 2011, internet, phone and card-not present fraud was £109.2m, down year-on-year from £118.2m. In 2008, from January to June, loss from this type of fraud was £163.9m.

The number of cases of card fraud has also been falling since 2008, according to the latest UKCA figures. While no half yearly incident figures were available for 2011, a UKCA spokesman told ZDNet UK on Thursday, yearly figures are falling. In 2010, there were 0.96 million card fraud incidents, compared with 1.13 million cases in 2009 and 1.4 million in 2008.