New data from the Australian government’s Scamwatch site shows that phishing and vishing topped the list of scam types used to trick Australians into becoming a scam’s next victim.
Rarely do you get to see a breakdown of all scams reported to a government entity. But the Scamwatch site, hosting by the Australian government helps paint a picture of exactly what kinds of scams are being experienced by everyday people.
According to the data:
- Phishing is the top scam category representing a little more than 20% of all scams
- Phishing rose by 75% when compared to 2019
- The months with the most phishing attacks were at the height of the pandemic in 2020 in the months of September and October
- The use of email, phone, text, mobile app, Internet, and social networking as “attack” mediums point to the use of social engineering as part of these scams – something we’ve seen occurs in 98% of all cyberattacks.
The use of phishing, vishing, and SMiShing – along with social engineering tactics – has long proven to be a viable method of seeing scams and cyber attacks successful. The reported scams mirror what organizations are seeing in 2020 and into this year – phishing remains top of mind for cybercriminals as *the* most viable means to get in front of your users, and social engineering tactics aren’t going anywhere, as they are the gateway to establishing credibility, creating a sense of urgency, and getting the victim to act in the attackers best interest.
