Phishing attacks surge 90% in Q4 2022

A report revealed that the number of attacks exceeded above 10,000.

A security report revealed that phishing activities in Hong Kong rose for three consecutive quarters in 2022, making it a top cyber-attack in the city next to web defacement and botnet command and control centres. 

According to the Hong Kong Security Watch Report by the city’s Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT), the number of phishing attacks has totalled 13,574 in the fourth quarter of the year (Q42022), a 90% increase quarter-on-quarter.

The report also said that 84% of the phishing sites visited were credit card websites, whilst 6% were websites related to telecommunications and 5% to transportation industries.

According to HKCERT, the public still holds the view that phishing attacks take place on fake websites created by hackers “to lure the victims in entering relevant login names, passwords and other personal information” and use the information to carry out illegal actions. But the attacks evolved as there are reports of cybercrime through text messages and social media.

HKCERT warned the city’s citizens not to click on links or attachments sent from any unknown sender and be careful with their legitimacy.