New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS): More than 17,214,900 cyber safety threats were successfully blocked in India alone over the past quarter, averaging 187,118 blocks per day, said a new report on Tuesday.

According to global digital security company NortonLifeLock, it also blocked more than 12.3 million tech support URLs, which topped the list of phishing threats for 13 consecutive weeks between July and September.

"Tech support scams are effective because they prey on consumers' fear, uncertainty and doubt to trick recipients into believing they face a dire cybersecurity threat," Darren Shou, head of technology, NortonLifeLock, said in a statement.

The report said that the effectiveness of this type of scam has escalated during the pandemic due to consumers' increased reliance on their devices to manage hybrid work schedules and family activities.

The latest findings show tech support scams, which often arrive as a pop-up alert convincingly disguised using the names and branding of major tech companies, have become the top phishing threat to consumers.

Tech support scams are expected to proliferate in the upcoming holiday season, as well as shopping and charity-related phishing attacks, the report said.