The point of many phishing scams is to gain access to bank or credit account information for financial gain. So, it makes sense to target users or accounts with the highest odds of containing substantial amounts of money. That explains a new phishing attack reported by AppRiver which takes aim at customers of Global Payments.
Many phishing attacks simply cast as wide a net as possible and hope that at least some of the victims snared by the scam have funds to make it worthwhile. By specifically targeting a merchant services company--a provider that processes credit card payments for retail establishments--the attackers greatly enhance the chances that any compromised accounts will actually have money available--perhaps a lot of money.
Fred Touchette, a senior security analyst with AppRiver, explains in a blog post, "Global Payments is a company that handles merchant services for all sorts of businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, hospitals, you name it. Basically their service can be used by anyone that needs to process credit card transactions."
More: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/210518/
Many phishing attacks simply cast as wide a net as possible and hope that at least some of the victims snared by the scam have funds to make it worthwhile. By specifically targeting a merchant services company--a provider that processes credit card payments for retail establishments--the attackers greatly enhance the chances that any compromised accounts will actually have money available--perhaps a lot of money.
Fred Touchette, a senior security analyst with AppRiver, explains in a blog post, "Global Payments is a company that handles merchant services for all sorts of businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, hospitals, you name it. Basically their service can be used by anyone that needs to process credit card transactions."
More: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/210518/