Washington – About one in four Internet users are hit with e-mail scams every month that try to lure sensitive personal information from consumers, a study says.
Of those receiving the phony e-mails, most thought they might be from legitimate companies – about 70 percent were fooled by the e-mails, said the report.
The study released Wednesday by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance looked at Internet security and “phishing scams.” Phishing refers to e-mails that appear to come from banks or other trusted businesses and are used to induce recipients to verify their accounts by typing personal details, such as credit card information, into a website disguised to appear legitimate.
“What’s happening is that more and more people are actually engaging in transactions online that would generate e-mail traffic that the scammers are copycatting,” said Tatiana Platt, senior vice president at AOL, a unit of New York-based Time Warner Inc.
The study found nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, 74 percent, use their computers for sensitive transactions such as banking, stock trading or reviewing medical information. That leaves phishers with a good chunk of Internet users to target, Platt said.
