The U.S. has dropped down the list of international phishing targets, falling from the second most targeted country to the fourth, according to cybersecurity firm RSA’s Quarterly Fraud Report for the fourth quarter of 2018.
The U.S. fell to fourth overall, with eight percent of all global phishing attacks targeted at American users. Topping the list of most targeted countries is Canada, which accounts for 47 percent of all attack volume. Replacing the U.S. in second place is Spain, with strong growth in phishing attacks due to “the launch of instant transfer services among many prominent financial institutions.”
“This example serves as a reminder of how cybercriminals continue to take advantage of significant events or changes in the market to launch attacks,” the report notes.
The RSA report found that overall, phishing attacks for Q4 2018 increased 25 percent from Q3. The U.S. remained the country hosting the most phishing attacks, accounting for 50 percent of the total.
In all, phishing accounted for 49 percent of the 48,148 fraud attacks detected by RSA in the fourth quarter, with rogue mobile apps comprising 22 percent, brand abuse at 15 percent, and trojan horse attacks at 14 percent.