40% Surge in Phishing Attacks Thwarted in 2023

Kaspersky’s latest report indicates a concerning surge in phishing attacks, with a 40% increase observed in 2023. Over 709 million attempts to access phishing and scam websites were thwarted by Kaspersky’s anti-phishing system, signaling a significant uptick compared to the previous year. Threat actors exploited various platforms including messaging apps, artificial intelligence platforms, social media services, and cryptocurrency exchanges to target users.

The annual analysis of spam and phishing threats by Kaspersky revealed a persistent trend: a notable rise in phishing attacks. This trend continued to escalate in 2023, with a surge of over 40%. Notably, phishing activity peaked in May and June, likely influenced by the holiday season, during which scammers commonly push travel-related scams such as counterfeit airline tickets and enticing hotel deals.

The integration of technologies featuring built-in GPT chats provided scammers with new avenues for exploitation. Despite this, attackers also resorted to traditional tactics, leveraging high-profile releases, events, and premieres to lure unsuspecting victims to counterfeit websites.

Messaging platforms also saw a surge in attacks, with Kaspersky thwarting 62,127 attempts to redirect users via phishing and scam links on Telegram alone, marking a notable 22% increase from the previous year. Russia topped the list for the majority of redirection attempts, followed by Brazil, Turkey, India, Germany, and Italy.

Olga Svistunova, a security expert at Kaspersky, emphasized the persistent threat of phishing in the digital landscape and urged users to remain vigilant. She advised users to verify sources before clicking on links and to utilize proven security solutions like Kaspersky Premium to mitigate risks.

To avoid falling victim to phishing scams, Kaspersky experts recommend only opening emails and clicking links from trusted senders, verifying suspicious messages via alternative means of communication, double-checking website URLs for spelling errors, and using reliable security solutions when browsing the web. For more information on the phishing threat landscape, users are encouraged to visit Securelist.com.