The number of phishing attacks in the Czech Republic has increased significantly this year. Czechs encountered them 35% more often in 2021 than last year, both on computers and mobile phones. This is according to an analysis by the Czech antivirus company Avast.
Fraudulent messages sent via email are the most widespread (82%), followed by phishing websites (25%) and SMS messages (22%). However, phone calls are no exception (16%).
“Globally, we have seen a 24% increase in phishing in the last five months. In the Czech Republic, Avast blocked an average of 7,400 malicious URLs per 100,000 inhabitants every month,” explained Avast security expert Alexey Savchin.
The survey showed that domestic users aged between 25 and 34 are the most likely to encounter phishing. While women are more likely to succumb to email phishing (70% of cases, men 46%), phishing websites mainly deceive men (32% of cases, women 11%).
“Phishing is still one of the most common threats that people can encounter, so users must be more vigilant against it and report the attacks themselves to the authorities. This is the only way they can limit their spread or prevent anyone else from falling prey to them,” Savchin pointed out.
Cybersecurity company Check Point has previously reported that hackers most often impersonate Microsoft employees in phishing attacks (29% of intercepted scams). The second place belongs to the shipping company Amazon (13%) and the third to DHL (9%). The ranking of all the brands that hackers mimic most often can be found at the end of the article.
HUnfortunately, he stressed thatthere is very little that individual brands can do to stop this phenomenon. “Users should pay attention to typos, domain names, dates, or other suspicious details. We also always recommend handling your data very carefully and always thinking twice before opening an email or clicking on a link, “cybersecurity specialist Marek Kovalcik stated.
“Especially when it comes to emails from Amazon, Microsoft, or DHL, the risk of fake messages is the highest. Users must also beware of fraudulent messages mimicking social media websites such as Facebook or WhatsApp, “the security expert added.”
The most commonly mimicked brands in phishing scams in the last 4 months of 2021
1. Microsoft (29%)
2. Amazon (13%)
3. DHL (9%)
4. Bestbuy (8%)
5. Google (6%)
6. WhatsApp (3%)
7. Netflix (2.6%)
8. LinkedIn (2.5%)
9. PayPal (2.3%)
10. Facebook (2.2%)