The percentage of US-hosted phishing attacks dropped from 74 per cent in February to 55 per cent in March, according to the latest online fraud report of security firm RSA.

Last month also witnessed a "dramatic increase" in the number of brands targeted by email scams, from 153 in February to 202 in March, even as the number of phishing attacks dropped slightly.

"More institutions were targeted, but on average there were fewer attacks against each institution," RSA explains.

The security division of EMC is yet to conclude whether changes in the pattern of phishing scams it observed in March are a one-off deviation or a new trend in the making.

Phishing attacks involve an attempt by fraudsters to trick users into handing over confidential account credentials, either by tricking them into responding to bogus security warnings or by conning them to visit malware-infected websites. ®

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