MANILA, Philippines -- Criminal intent is clearly becoming the motivation behind most web attacks and malicious software caught by companies like Trend Micro, an expert said recently.

In an interview, David Perry, global director of education for Trend Micro Inc., said that in his 33 years of computer experience, he has seen more malicious attacks and software launched by people with "largely financial gain" in mind.

In the United States, he said that identity fraud has become a profitable business, as “phishing” or the act of stealing of sensitive information from users with the intent of selling or using it, has become a greater concern among security companies.

He said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported that about 15 million identities were stolen in the US alone.

The Trend Micro executive also noted that computers worldwide are also being hijacked using computer malware to generate so-called "click frauds." Click frauds are now used by fake affiliates to trick online advertising services of Google and Amazon to generate fraudulent traffic to certain websites.

Using hijacked computers, these fake affiliates are now able to generate fraudulent advertising revenue by driving more traffic or "clicks" to target websites, Perry said.

The executive said that click fraud is now a headache in the web advertising world.

"It is wreaking havoc to the rest of the Internet advertising world. Advertising clicks are generated by malware. It is now very common," he said.

He stressed that this is one way that malicious groups are now defrauding users and online services.

Citing a few more examples on how criminal intent is now pervasive in web attacks and phishing activates, Perry said that a Trojan program that intends to steal online account information can fetch anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 in the underground market. A credit card number with a personal identification number can sell for about $500. These figures, he added, were culled from "cybercrime forums."

TrendLabs has been reporting about 3,000 malware and 17,000 blocked web addresses a day, Perry said. He added that he has also seen more spam activities increasing in China.

"I'm seeing more activities in China. I've seen the 'make money spam' and the 'illicit software spam' and the 'promised of jobs.' There has also been a rise of phishing in China," he said.