90% of online adults worried about phishing

Almost 90% of online adults are concerned about becoming a victim of phishing attacks.

Independent research commissioned by e-mail security firm Cloudmark shows that 89% of adults are equally or more concerned about becoming a phishing victim than they were last year.

Phishing attacks are e-mail scams that attempt to defraud consumers of their personal information by pretending to have been sent by a trustworthy entity such as a bank or credit lender.

Despite the concern, according to the poll, online adults still engage in at least one of the five major activities that often lead to becoming a victim of a phishing attack.

The survey of 2,215 adults found that 37% have opened e-mails from unknown senders.

In addition, 13% have clicked on links in e-mails from unknown senders, and 16% have given out personal information on a website when the information was "optional".

Also, 9% have opened attachments in e-mails from unknown senders, and 6% have responded to e-mails claiming there was a problem with their account - for instance, they owe money or are owed money.