As the number of criminals looking to target internet users in attacks designed to obtain personal information by deception rises, consumers have been advised to be on the lookout for such scams.
Phishing attacks, as they are known, work by encouraging internet users to give out personal information in the belief that they are communicating with an authoritative party such as a bank, Apacs, the UK payments association, explains.
It reports that there were more than 10,000 phishing scams identified during the first quarter of this year, an increase of over 200 per cent since the same period of 2007.
In avoiding such attacks, the organisation asserts: "The advice is quite simple: just remember that your bank will never send you emails asking you to disclose pin numbers, login details or complete passwords."
According to consumer advice service Anti-Phishing Working Group, people should be suspicious of any email requesting financial information, even if it is personalised.
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