Credit unions drew more attention from phishing fraudsters in May than the month before, according to the latest RSA Online Fraud Report.
Credit unions accounted for 20% of the attacks on financial institutions in May, compared with 13% in April, according to Bedford, Mass.-based RSA, The Security Division of EMC. Regional banks accounted for 18% and national banks for 62%, a 20-point drop, the company said.
Overall, international volume increased by 7% in May from April, primarily because of highly targeted phishing campaigns against small financial institutions, RSA said.
Globally, the RSA Anti-Fraud Command Center recorded 37,878 phishing attacks in May, compared with 35,558 in April and 23,097 in May 2011, RSA said.
There were a total of 298 different financial institution brands attacked, the company said, compared with 288 in April and 376 in May 2011.
Thirty-one percent of the attacks were on U.S. brands, while 11% were U.K. brands, RSA said, but in terms of total volume, 63% of the total attacks were on U.K. brands, the third straight month it led the list, and 25% of the volume was on U.S. brands
Phishing volume year-over-year, meanwhile, is up 164%, RSA said, because of technical advancements in site-hijacking methods and hosted malware.
The report also noted the growth of ransomware, in which infected PCs are held hostage until owners pay off the botmaster. A typical amount cited was 100 euros or about $125.
