If you get a cell phone text message about your debit or credit card being suspended, it's a SCAM! That's the message from local law enforcers who handled a rash of calls from people who got the phishing text messages claiming the person's debit or credit card was suspended and asking they call and provide their credit or debit card number, the expiration date, a personal identification number and a Social Security number.

Statistics from the UK-based Fraud Prevention Service CIFAS indicate that over 23% of British Internet users reported that they or their family members and friends had been victims of at least one phishing scam during 2008.

The number of global phishing attacks grew by a whopping 66 per cent last year compared to 2007, equating to 135,426 separate incidents, according to new research from RSA Security. The firm's annual Anti-Fraud Command Center Phishing Trends Report (PDF) found that the UK led the way with 40 per cent of attacks as a result of several concerted campaigns against a small number of UK financial institutions during 2008. The US came second with 37 per cent.

Junk mail levels are back to 80-90 per cent of their volumes prior to the takedown of infamous junk mail-friendly ISP McColo in November 2008 last year. Spam levels are up 4.9 percentage points since December 2008 to 74.6 percent, reaching levels close to those prior to the McColo takedown, according to an analysis by email and web filtering firm MessageLabs published on Monday.

Security researchers warn that fake Google AdWords and Yahoo! Marketing Solutions customer support e-mails messages are in circulation. The e-mails contain URLs that direct users to fake authentication pages in an attempt to steal login information.

The demise late last year of four of the world's biggest spam botnets was good news for anyone with an email inbox, as spam levels were cut in half - almost overnight. But the vacuum has created opportunities for a new breed of bots, some of which could be much tougher to bring down, several security experts are warning.

Another year, another form of phishing. This one, I have to admit, is pretty good in terms of potentially fooling a user. Unlike most phishing attack vectors, it doesn't rely on the victim being ignorant and/or moronic. The new technique has been dubbed "in-session" phishing and it stays out of your e-mail altogether.

Also likely on the increase is abuse of free web-hosting and blogging services like Google's Blogspot, according to McAfee's January Spam Report, which analyzes trends from 2008 and predicts how they will continue in 2009, to be issued next week.

Most experts agree that phishing has become more automated, sophisticated, and widespread. But that doesn't mean all phishers make big bucks, according to a recently published report.

As more companies embrace the Internet to deliver their services, there is a marked increase in the threat of spamming from fraudsters. Even employees' e-mail boxes are not spared and this could cause large companies thousands of ringgit a day in terms of manhours wasted in ridding spam e-mail.

According to a new research report, "The Cost of Phishing: Understanding the True Cost Dynamics behind Phishing Attacks" from security monitoring specialist Cyveillance, phishing attacks cause extensive collateral financial damages such as ruining brands' reputation after hacking. These damages continue to rise with increasing sophistication.