Welcome the world's new Most Phished Country: Australia

Move over Brazil: Australia has become the most phished country on Earth, accounting for a quarter of all targeted malicious emails sent globally. Down Under has worked hard at the title, according to Kasperksy, more than doubling its share of phishing attacks received. This despite that a mere 23 million people inhabit the …

[Drusenija]

Well duh!

Of course we're the most phished country in the world, the whole place is surrounded by water! Oh, that's not what you meant? Well perhaps you could just enter your credit card details into this "Fishing" website for me and we'll get right on that.

[Anonymous Coward]

The most gullible and trusting nation in the world perhaps?

[Tim99]

Or not?

The most gullible and trusting nation in the world perhaps?

Or, perhaps, the country in the highest 5 ranking of GDP per capita with the highest population?

[Thorne]

Fishing has always been good down under......

[poopypants]

Yes, it happens

I've only seen a couple (gmail filters them out - checking my spam folder shows hundreds).

The most professional looking one that managed to slip through purported to be a delivery tracker from Australia Post for a parcel (coincidentally, I was expecting a parcel). Still, because it wanted me to click on something, and because the URL didn't look quite right, I did a lookup. The site was based in Russia, and owned by someone in Romania. I did not click the link.

Another claimed to be from a bank with which I do not have an account.

I can see how people without a good email service and/or a deficit of caution could find themselves in trouble. It might be safer for such people to have a mobile phone set aside for email, that has nothing of importance on it and runs an obscure OS (Windows Phone springs to mind).

[Anonymous Coward]

Australia just beat Brazil?

Only a few days ago the UK was the most phished. Shome mishtake, shurely?

Security company press releases. Always a reliable source of giggles, if nothing else.

[LaeMing]

I saw a (on the surface) farily well-branded 'Woolworths Customer Survey' phish.

Though I am pretty sure Woolworths don't operate out of eastern europe.

And I get the same emails on my work email (named) and other work email (department section). Nether of which have any reason to talk to a supermarket, bank, etc.

On the other hand, I spent weeks binning the official internal bulliten because HR decided to issue it from a 'cloud' service rather than via the internal domain (morons!).

[Allan George Dyer]

Re: I saw a (on the surface) farily well-branded 'Woolworths Customer Survey' phish.

"weeks binning the official internal bulletin"

and you only noticed when they congratulated you on your increased productivity?

[LaeMing]

Re: I saw a (on the surface) farily well-branded 'Woolworths Customer Survey' phish.

Not far wrong!

[Anonymous Coward]

Its just too easy

I was trying to buy something online with an ANZ card and they wanted me to sign up for verified by visa again. The legit bud dodgy looking signup page wanted the exact details that the bank used to verify my identity. It must be like shooting fish in a barrel. There is also the lovely XSS hole in the CBA's bpoint web system that lets you use a Mastercard cert complete with a green bar and padlock for whenever you don't want to buy your own random numbers.

No wonder we need laws that allow our spys to spy on us better.

[marky_boi]

Pre-paid credit card only touches the net here

My named is

Valued Cardholder

I live @

2 getlost lane

Pingoffville.

The card is bought from the PO and is linked to nothing.

Banking is done via a Booted Linux CD

I have my personalized tin hat and the aliens gave me a butt probe.

but seriously, anyone who doesn't give due care and attention to emails and the URLs contained within. is almost asking to be fleeced.

Kids are the worst, they seem to have clickitis.... my kids have been re-educated.

[Captain Scarlet]

Re: Pre-paid credit card only touches the net here

All sounds good but I suffer from this condition called "Being a Lazy Git"

[Anonymous Coward]

Q: Why wasn't Jesus born in Australia?

A: God couldn't find a virgin, let alone three wise men!

[Anonymous Coward]

Austfailia, Austfailia, Austfailia, we love you, amen, crack tubes.

So our incumbent regime's Final Solution of turning Austfailia in the STUPIDEST nation on Earth is working.

By making university education very difficult & expensive, cutting funding to schools, pushing an anti-intellectual agenda, our Glorious Leaders (it's now illegal to criticize them. No, seriously.) have created a nation of people thick enough to keep voting smarmy bullet-headed tuckfards into power.

silent_count & Fluffy Bunny, the Reg's favourite Lib shills will no doubt be sending demands for my whereabouts for calling Our Glorious LeaderTony Abbott an almighty turd with the charm and friendliness of an angry funnelweb spider. And thats being mean to the spider.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Austfailia, Austfailia, Austfailia, we love you, amen, crack tubes.

I agree,

I can see a correlation between Australians being the most gullible (read: the stupidest) people and voting in a government, that is so power hungry, that it will try it's level best to cease all basic rights, so no one dare try to highlight that they are nothing but legalized criminals (a.k.a. political mafia)

Until a few years ago, Australia was the destination where I would have like to retire, but with such a corrupt and morally bankrupt government, I have absolutely no ambitions to even visit that place!

They are about on the same level as the yanks!

And the few that still have brains, have either left, or are about to leave the country!

Yes, it makes perfect sense that Australia is the most phished country! (As sad as it is!!!)

[goodjudge]

Plain text emails. There's a reason.

Thank god for that Thunderbird option. Shame it's not available as a generic setting in some other commonly-used email clients. Then those pesky hsbc.com.givemeyourmoney.ru links would be so much easier to spot.

[MachDiamond]

Amazing

Australia must be hard hit indeed. My spam trap is chock full of Special offers, requirements to re-verify my banking information, Viagra, Cialis, etc, Mail order brides, weight loss secrets, business opportunities, extra chances at salvation, lost lost relatives leaving me piles of cash, and on and on.

If Aussies get more, they must be drowning innit.