Security News > 2021 > February > Google: Gmail users from US most targeted by phishing attacks
Google has revealed earlier this week that Gmail users from the United States are the most popular target for email-based phishing and malware attacks.
After inspecting phishing and malware campaigns blocked by Gmail within five months, Google found that 42% of all targets were from the US, with the next two most targeted users being from the UK and Japan.
The researchers also discovered that botnets and attackers behind malware and phishing email attacks are relying on "Fast-churning campaigns" where the same template will hit an average of no more than 1,000 potential victims.
Such campaigns don't commonly last more than three days but they were found the be behind over 100 million malicious emails targeting Gmail users from all over the globe.
Having your email or other personal details exposed in a third-party data breach increased the odds of being targeted by phishing or malware by 5X. Where you live also affects risk.
Mobile-only users experienced lower odds of attack: 0.80X compared to multi-device users.
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