In early 2003, phishing scams were crudely implemented and easy to notice because the URL or domain name used for perpetrating the crime was never quite the same as the genuine internet site it was mimicking. For example, www. genuinebank.com would be www.genuine -bank1.com or other minor variations.
In late 2003, the phishing scam perpetrators began more sophisticated attacks against major brand name web sites using the "@" symbol in the middle of a URL command line to redirect the user to a new website such as: http://www.genuinebank.com@www.mi2g.net/> www.genuinebank.com@www.mi2g.net.
While this induced some unsuspecting users to follow the eMailed link in the first instance, the URL displayed on the browser was different from http://www.genuinebank.com/> www.genuinebank.com and gave the game away. Predictably, the success rate of these phishing scams was poor even though the headache for the targeted enterprise was significant.
In 2004, a new sophistication is emerging in online phishing scams that offers greater possibility of success in duping genuine customers. There is a vulnerability in many browsers, including Internet Explorer, which is being exploited by phishing scam perpetrators.