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Kaspersky Reports Nearly 900m Phishing Attempts in 2024 as Cyber threats Increase

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Kaspersky’s security solutions blocked over 893 million phishing attempts in 2024 – a 26% increase from 2023, when the total stood at nearly 710 million.

The surge in attempts (shown in the graph below) between May-July is traditionally tied to the international holiday season when fraudsters frequently try to lure travelers with scams involving fake airline and hotel bookings, deceptive tour packages and too-good-to-be-true offers.

Experts observed a range of phishing and scam schemes aimed at stealing data, money and installing malicious software. In 2024, cybercriminals often mimicked the websites of well-known brands like Booking.com, Airbnb, TikTok, Telegram, and others. One ongoing campaign, for example, has been targeting TikTok Shop users.

Cybercriminals created fake login pages designed to steal sellers’ credentials. Additionally, scammers capitalised on trending news, orchestrating fraud schemes involving the hype topics, for example cryptocurrency game Hamster Kombat and TON wallets.

Fraudulent schemes also tended to capitalise on fake celebrity images in 2024, falsely promoting giveaways of valuable prizes to fans that were never delivered. The trend persists in 2025.

“While the core mechanics of phishing and scams remain unchanged, attackers constantly refine their disguises. They capitalise on trending news, hype-driven topics, and even combine branding from multiple companies on a single phishing page to enhance efficiencies of their campaigns.

“AI-driven tools help them to create highly convincing fake websites, making fraud harder to detect. These evolving tactics pose a growing risk – not just to financial security but also to personal identity protection. As a result, vigilance and the use of robust cybersecurity solutions have never been more crucial,” says Olga Svistunova, a security expert at Kaspersky.

Spam and malicious email campaigns

According to Kaspersky data, both individuals and corporate users encountered malicious email attachments more than 125 million times in 2024.

Cybercriminals used various tactics in email campaigns targeting businesses, as observed by experts. These included sending emails with password-protected archives containing malicious content and SVG images disguised as harmless graphics, and many other schemes. Attackers lured victims into clicking on malicious content through fake court appeals, fake deals, counterfeit official notifications and more.

Nearly every second email in a corporate mailbox – 47% of global traffic, marking a 1.27 percentage point increase from the previous year – was spam. South African users encountered 20% more malicious emails in comparison to the previous year.

While spam includes different email threats, including those mentioned above, it is not always malicious and consists mostly of unsolicited advertisements.

Experts note that corporate spam trends of the last year prominently feature advertisements for AI solutions, related webinars, online promotion services, follower-boosting schemes and more.

 


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E-Business

Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

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By Nancy Werteen

When you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.”

Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about 4.88 million dollars a year.

Modern hackers aren’t trying to get into your computer; they’re trying to get into you.

“They’ll try to learn about you a little bit, and they’ll try to use that information against you to try to get you to complete some action, maybe to send somebody some money,” said Kevin Moran, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster, University of Central Florida.

IBM calls this human hacking, because it exploits human error instead of system error.

“With people just being busy and maybe not very carefully checking some of the emails or the phone calls that they get, can be something unfortunately that people can fall victim to,” said Moran.

Also known as social engineering, this often takes the form of phishing, where the hacker tries to “fish” the information out of you by impersonating family, friends, or even your bank.

There’s also baiting, where the hacker baits you with something of value. Remember the Nigerian prince scam?

That’s a famous example of baiting. There’s also pretexting, where the hacker will claim the victim has already been hacked, and that the hacker can fix it if you just send over your passwords. So, what can you do?

“Just as a rule of thumb, instead of clicking on links and emails, just go to the website yourself. And that will prevent, a lot of these types of attacks from happening,” explained Moran.

Phishing can take many forms.

Spear phishing targets people with access to confidential information, often to get access into an entire business, and whale phishing targets CEOs or political figures.

Search engine phishing is when hackers create fake websites promising services or goods you’ll never receive.

Angler phishing is when hackers create fake social media accounts impersonating famous people or companies.

Finally, vishing and smishing is phishing done through phone calls and texts respectively.

 

 

 

 

 


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FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

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Federal government  has said that it has successfully captured 59,786 inmates, representing approximately 74 percent of the total prison population into the National Identity Number (NIN) database.

FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

This figure is based on a total of 80,879 inmates across 256 custodial centres across the country.

Abubakar Umar, spokesman, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Deputy Controller of Corrections, who made this disclosure in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, dismissed recent media reports alleging that the NIN registration had yet to begin in custodial centres.

Umar described such report as misleading, inaccurate, and not representative of the current situation.

According to Umar, the NIN registration exercise within the correctional facilities was ongoing and has achieved substantial progress.

He credited the achievement to collaboration between the NCoS and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has enabled successful enrollment of majority of inmates into the national identity database.

According to him, “As of June 7, 2025, a total of 59,786 inmates, roughly 74 percent cent of the total inmate population have been captured on the NIMC platform,” Umar said.

“Efforts are ongoing to register the remaining inmates, and necessary mechanisms have been established to ensure the seamless completion of the process.”

He emphasised that the assertion that NIN registration has not started in custodial centres was factually incorrect and overlooks the extensive work already carried out.

The Service reaffirmed its commitment to integrating all inmates into national data systems, including NIN registration, as part of broader efforts to support rehabilitation, reintegration, and digital inclusion for individuals in custody.

Umar also urged media outlets to confirm their information with appropriate authorities before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation that could undermine the Service’s progress and public understanding.


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NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has clarified that all its verification service platforms remain fully functional and accessible to all authorized partners, including security agencies.

NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

Abisoye Coker-Odusote, DG, NIMC

In a statement on Thursday, the Commission firmly denied claims that it had denied the Police Service Commission (PSC) access to its verification server.

Dr. Kayode Adegoke, head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, described the reported “inability of the Police Service Commission to access the NIMC verification server” as misleading and inaccurate.

He suggested that any challenges faced by the PSC may be due to internal issues within the commission itself, not from NIMC’s end.

The statement reads: “To set the record straight, the NIMC granted verification access to all Nigerian Police formations for the verification of the National Identification Number (NIN). The NPF, PSC and other security agencies have been enjoying uninterrupted verification services for over five years.

“NIMC has provided top-notch verification services for recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, as conducted by the PSC and at no time have there been any complaints or issues regarding NIN Verification by the NPF or PSC.

“The Commission has a robust and harmonious working relationship with the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission. The Information Communications and Technology (ICT) department of the Nigeria Police Force is actively managing the long-standing verification and integration service between the NIMC and all Nigeria Police formations.Entertainment tourism packages

“NIMC will continue to provide flawless verification services for the purpose of recruitment, security mapping, cybercrime control, and any other security matters.

“The framework by which NIMC provides services to the security agencies was recently restructured for standardization and effective implementation, following consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser, and NPF has confirmed the verification services have continued to be available. We therefore believe that any service interruption experienced by PSC may be due to internal matters.

“NIMC is committed to providing excellent verification services to the PSC, NPF and all its partners but the terms and conditions inherent must be adhered to for uninterrupted flow of service.”


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