It is amazing that for whatever reason people just don't get it. JUST DON'T CLICK! Nothing anyone has to sell, give away or try to lure you with via email is worth the risk.

Based on a survey of 5,000 consumers in the United States, Gartner said users are being assaulted with more phishing attacks than ever before and are falling for more of the gimmicks. Yet at the same time, customers are losing less money to the schemes, due to a growing awareness of the online fraud model, as banks and other businesses spoofed in the attacks have put more tools in place to help identify suspicious behavior.

Gartner estimates that 109 million U.S. adults received phishing e-mails during the last 12 months, compared to only 57 million in 2004. An estimated 24.4 million Americans went on to click on phishing e-mails in 2006, up from approximately 11.9 million in 2005. The company said 3.5 million adults gave sensitive information to fraudsters in 2006, compared to only 1.9 million adults last year.

Based on the survey, the average loss per victim has grown from $257 to $1,244 per victim in 2006. Finding a refund for money lost to the schemes has also become harder: Consumers recovered approximately 80 percent of their cash in 2005, but are getting back an average of only 54 percent in 2006.

The analyst said that among the tactics being employed successfully by phishers are efforts that launch and shut down fraudulent Web sites very quickly, so that the attacks become moving targets that are harder to stop using conventional blacklists. The average life span of a phishing site has dropped to roughly 1 hour in 2006, whereas was approximately one week in 2004. Litan said attackers may have already begun to create customized phishing schemes that target specific people, specifically those who appear to have more money than the average Web user.