Forty-two per cent of people questioned said their trust in a brand would be ‘greatly reduced’ if they received a phishing e-mail that claimed to be from them.
Phishing e-mails often use official company logos and convincing layouts to try to extract sensitive information from unsuspecting computer users.
Messaging security firm Cloudmark, which commissioned the survey, said the majority of respondents felt the responsibility for protection against e-mail scams lies with the user, their service provider and the service provider that transported the e-mails.
Neil Cook, the UK technology chief at Cloudmark, said phishing is a highly-sophisticated and well-orchestrated form of crime.
“The gangs behind these attacks work to compromise financial information via e-mail scams and then propagate that information into a highly stratified and efficient economy, selling the data on to those who will profit from the accounts.
“Earlier this year we conducted research into the effect that phishing has on the individual that found consumers were still extremely concerned about falling victim to such a scam. What is interesting to note from these results is that well-known brands are also suffering, with phishing attacks having a detrimental effect on their reputation.”
He said this effect could prove particularly damaging for banks, who rely heavily on their reputation.
Cloudmark’s own research – involving 260 million mailboxes – shows the Natwest bank is the nation’s most phished brand.
As a follow up to its findings, Cloudmark has launched a series of tips for avoiding malware. Click here to take a look.