The stark reality behind phishing

If ever there was doubt about the organised nature of fraud and financial crime, the recent report by the Anti Phishing Working Group says that, of the phishing attacks that took place globally in the latter half of 2009, 66 percent were from one group.  It has long been known in the anti-fraud community that these groups operate in a highly organised and structured manner – I have even heard of organisation charts being compared, side by side, between a well known fraud operation and a bank: the structures were almost identical position by position from the CEO down to the call center reps.  Hopefully these types of reports will make law enforcement wake up to the fact that we aren’t facing a few rogue teens and drug addicts trying to scrape together some cash; these gangs operate very efficiently and often funnel money towards other, more serious pastimes, like terrorism, drugs and weapons.  Being able to arrest and convict fraudsters of more than “slap-on-the-wrist” crimes is key to stemming the tide of illicit funding that comes from the various criminal enterprises.  It’s time people wakeup to the fact that there are serious linkages between all levels of organised crime and start treating them, and their intent, as a single entity.