Scams continue to be the most common form of cybercrime, overtaking phishing and other cyber threats such as malware, ransomware, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Scammers are highly interested in brands from the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and Africa (MEA) regions, according to the latest report by global cybersecurity firm Group-IB.
The average number of scam resources created per brand, defined as the number of instances in which a brand's image and logo were appropriated for use in scam campaigns, across all regions and industries, more than doubled year-on-year in 2022, up 162 percent. In the Asia-Pacific region, the rise was even more significant, with this number spiralling 211 percent compared to 2021. According to the findings, scams caused over $55 billion in damages, and the so-called scamdemic shows no signs of slowing down.