'18% surge in phishing attempts' last year

Pakistan witnessed an 18% surge in phishing attempts in 2024 compared to 2023, renowned multinational cyber security firm Kaspersky revealed on Wednesday, as cybercriminals continued to capitalise on well-known brands to steal credentials or install malware. It said that it blocked 26% more phishing attempts worldwide in the last calendar year, compared to the year before that. It added that the users encountered more than 125 million attacks involving malicious email attachments. "In Pakistan an increase of 18% was registered," it said. The surge in phishing attempts between May-July is traditionally tied to the holiday season when fraudsters frequently try to lure travellers with scams involving fake airline and hotel bookings, deceptive tour packages and too-good-to-be-true offers. Phishing is a type of cyber-attack where attackers attempt to deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal data. This is typically done by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in email, text messages, or fake websites etc. Kaspersky said that cybercriminals continued to capitalise on well-known brands like Booking, Airbnb, TikTok and Telegram to steal credentials or install malware. One ongoing campaign, it said, had been targeting TikTok Shop users. "Cybercriminals created fake login pages designed to steal sellers' credentials. Additionally, scammers capitalised on trending news, orchestrating fraud schemes involving the hype topics, for example cryptocurrency game Hamster Kombat and TON wallets," it added. "While the core mechanics of phishing and scams remain unchanged, attackers constantly refine their disguises. They capitalise on trending news, hype-driven topic, and even combine branding from multiple companies on a single phishing page to enhance efficiencies of their campaigns." Olga Svistunova, a security expert at Kaspersky, said that AI-driven tools helped cybercriminals create highly convincing fake websites, making fraud harder to detect. "These evolving tactics pose a growing risk – not just to financial security but also to personal identity protection," Svistunova warned. In order to avoid becoming a victim of phishing, scam or malicious messages, Kaspersky experts advised the users to only open emails and click links if they were sure they could trust the sender.

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