Pakistan witnessed an 18% increase in phishing trials by 2024 compared to 2023, the famous multinational cyber security company Kaspersky revealed Wednesday when cyber criminals continued to exploit the well-known brands to steal credentials or install malware.

It said it blocked 26% more phishing trials worldwide in the last calendar year compared to the year before. It added that users encountered more than 125 million attacks involving malicious E -mail -attached files. “In Pakistan, an increase of 18%was recorded,” it said.

The wave in phishing trials between May-July is traditionally tied to the holiday season when scammers often try to lure travelers with scams involving fake airline and hotel bookings, misleading tour packs and also good deals.

Phishing is a type of cyber attack in which attackers try to deceive individuals to reveal sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers or other personal data. This is typically done by masking as a reliable device IE email, text messages or fake sites, etc.

Kaspersky said cyber criminals continued to utilize well -known brands such as Booking, Airbnb, Tiktok and Telegram to steal credentials or install malware. An ongoing campaign, it said, had targeted Tiktok Shop users.

“Cyber ​​criminals created false login pages designed to steal the seller’s credentials. In addition, capitalized scammers on trending news, orchestration of fraudulent hype items involved, such as cryptocurrency hamster combat and ton of wallets,” added.

“While the core mechanics of phishing and fraud remain unchanged, refined attackers constantly refuse their disguises. They benefit from trend news, hyp-driven topic and even combine branding from several companies on a single phishing page to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.”

Olga Svistunova, a security expert at Kaspersky, said AI-powered tools helped cyber criminals create very convincing fake sites, making fraud harder to discover. “These developing tactics pose a growing risk – not only for financial security, but also for personal identity protection,” warned Svistunova.

To avoid becoming a victim of phishing, scam or malicious messages, Kaspersky experts advised users to open E emails only and click on links if they were sure they could trust the sender.