By Keri Algar

SYDNEY, NSW: The retail sector is targeted by phishing scams more than any other industry worldwide, according to the September State of Spam report by Symantec.

The report observed that 54 per cent of all scams focussed on the retail industry, followed by 41 per cent that targeted the communications sector.

In August Symantec noticed a large increase in .zip and .html attachments with the top subject line of ‘Your wife photos attached’ and ‘Join my network on Linkedin’. In an attempt to obtain personal information a phishing website linked to the movie High School Musical was set up in the same month.

Australia was listed as one of the top ten countries producing two percent of the world’s spam. Almost a quarter of spam originates in the United States.