LONDON - The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned that online banking scams in the UK have taken off in a big way and have increased by almost 8000 percent in the past two years. The government watchdog said that it was worried over the increasing trends seen in "phishing."
The Lords science and technology committee heard today that in the period between January and June 2005, 312 phishing incidents were recorded. However his ear he number has soared o 5,059, according to Apacs figures.
In the first half of the year, more than £23.2 million was stolen and the number is likely to be £22.5 million in the latter half, the committee heard today. Phishing scams involve luring innocent users to fake websites and getting their bank account numbers in this way.
"We are very concerned about the rate of increase. It has gone up by 8,000 per cent in the past two years. But in the grand scheme of total fraud it is still quite small," said Rob Gruppetta, of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) financial crime team.
Apacs security chief Philip Whitaker said that the increase in the number of phishing incidents was mainly noted because of better methods of detection. "There is no evidence that one bank is any worse or any better off than another," he added.
The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology was instituted in June 2006 and is scheduled to present its findings in the summer next year.
