Why Phishing Works – Lessons for Financial Institutions

What about those tell-tale cues that web surfers are told to look for? No, not always the answer, as the same study showed that more than 20 percent of participants didn’t look at the address bar or other security indicators that would tip them that they were looking at a bogus website.

Some of the other findings in the whitepaper showed that many users are unable to detect the difference between legitimate and fraudulent URLs, whether the email header is forged, and they show a lack of knowledge of their computer system, and also security and security indicators on their computer’s browser.

The whitepaper’s research revealed that the use of visual deception by phishers causes many savvy users to fall prey. Tricks include deceptive text, images masking text, images that mimic browser windows or dialogue windows, or placing a faked browser window on or near a legitimate one.

Participants in the research study were shown websites that appeared to belong to financial institutions and e-commerce companies, some were spoofed, and some were real. The results showed that the best phishing site was able to fool more than 90 percent of the participants.

Phishing web sites are proliferating, and the largest target remains financial institutions. “Why Phishing Works” a white paper authored by researchers from Harvard and UC Berkley is a must read for all financial institutions. Click to read “Why Phishing Works.”

Download the report now: https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/whitepapers.php?wp_id=97