For anyone who doubts the seriousness of phishing on the Internet, a new study by Gartner shows that phishing attacks cost 3.6 million consumers more than $3.2 billion dollars. The number of phishing victims rose by more than one-third from 2006, with the prime target being debit cards.

More than three percent of consumers who responded to the Gartner study indicated that they'd lost money due to a phishing attack. The average dollar loss in 2007 dropped to less than $900, and the number of persons able to recover their money increased.

PayPal and Ebay are the most-spoofed financial brands, and nearly half of all victims indicated that a debit card had been the payment method they'd used when they were victimized. Debit cards are becoming more attractive, since security measures for debit cards, and debit fraud are weaker than those used to protect credit card information.

According to Gartner, phishing attacks directed against debit cards will continue to grow through 2009, and online ad networks will deliver about 30 percent of the malware directed at consumers.