The APWG Phishing Activity Trends Report analyzes phishing attacks reported to the APWG by its member companies, its Global Research Partners, through the organization’s website at https://apwg.org, and by e-mail submissions to reportphishing [@] antiphishing. org. APWG also measures the evolution, proliferation, and propagation of crimeware by drawing from the research of our member companies.
Phishing is a crime employing both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers’ personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social engineering schemes prey on unwary victims by fooling them into believing they are dealing with a trusted, legitimate party, such as by using deceptive email addresses and email messages. These are designed to lead consumers to counterfeit Web sites that trick recipients into divulging financial data such as usernames and passwords. Technical subterfuge schemes plant malware onto computers to steal credentials directly, often using systems that intercept consumers’ account usernames and passwords or misdirect consumers to counterfeit Web sites.
