Multiple European Banks

Date:09.16.2005

Threat Type: Phishing Alert

Websense® Security Labs™ has observed a surge of new phishing attacks targeting European banks. Phishing attacks against over two dozen new European banks have been detected within the past 24 hours. Historically, the number of banks being targeted in Europe has been relatively low when compared with North America. This is the first time we have observed a significant number of European victims over a short period of time. The banks being targeted are predominately located in Spain and Italy.

All the attacks begin with a spoofed email message directed at a user of the bank. The email typically is composed in the primary language of the bank. The email messages provide a link to a phishing site along with a generic warning requesting that the user visit the link.

Phishing screenshot samples: