Up Front

Fraudsters Go Phishing

United States and international financial institutions stand to lose up to $400 million as a result of phishing incidents in 2004, according to a recent report by Framingham, Mass.-based Financial Insights. In addition, these institutions are incurring organizational costs beyond those allocated to the management of identity theft.

The greatest harm, however, could come from the erosion in customer trust that these identity fraud cases cause. Financial Insights, in conjunction with the Anti-Phishing Working Group, discovered a total of 1,197 unique phishing attacks in May alone.

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