Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) New Zealand’s second quarter report shows reported incidents are up by 21%.

Of the 1,197 incidents made by businesses and individuals between April and June 2019, 458 (38%) fell under the scam and fraud category.

Scams and fraud, alongside phishing and credential harvesting, and unauthorised access have consistently been the highest incident categories since 2017.

Approximately 275 (23%) incidents reported in the most recent quarter detailed some type of loss.

CERT also notes online shopping scams are on the rise, second only to extortion or blackmail scams.

Online shopping scams can operate across various platforms like social media, scam websites and sometimes through legitimate auction sites.

The number of incidents reported by individuals is spread across all age groups. However, there is a noticeable increase in reported incidents in age groups above 25.

Individuals and businesses or organisations can report cyber security problems to CERT via their website.