Cheap domain name registration is partly to blame for the increase in phishing sites – websites which attempt to steal visitors’ personal information by mimicking the login pages of legitimate websites. Unclassified Domain Names are cheap and easy to buy, and many phishing websites are online for less than seven days before moving on to a new domain name.

Phishing sites are becoming more sophisticated, targeting smaller, regional establishments, such as local banks, rather than the more popular large sites, such as eBay, PayPal and the Bank of America. Phishing kits are available in underground markets, making it much easier for phishers to set up websites and begin harvesting unwitting visitors’ personal details.