Financial services companies remain the most frequent targets of online phishing schemes, according to the latest figures released by an organisation working to fight the scams.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is reporting 9,019 unique scams just over the course of December 2004. This equates to a 6 percent increase over the previous month. Compared with the 2,625 reported attacks during July 2004, this number indicates a 38 percent increase in six months.

The APWG is reporting a total of 55 brands that are being utilized as part of various Phishing campaigns. Additionally the majority, they say, are companies in the financial sector such as major banks.

The APWG said that the number of Web sites supporting the scams has grown at an even faster rate. In December, there were 1,707 phishing-related sites reported -- a jump of 10 percent over November, when the group tracked 1,546 such fraudulent URLs. The tally has increased by roughly 24 percent per month since August 2004.

Despite the proliferation of Phishing schemes aimed at companies in the online sales industry, consumers have yet to grow reluctant to conduct their business online.