American National Bank is warning consumers not to fall victim to phishing scams. Phishing is a new twist on an old telemarketing scam, but uses e-mail. These criminals send e-mails to millions of people hoping that even a few will give away valuable information.

By the end of 2011, 6.05 million US households will depend on a wireless or mobile platform (including 3G or 4G) as their only means of accessing the internet, according to research just published by the Strategy Analytics Service Provider Strategies program. This represents 6.9% of total US broadband connections—and a 430,000 net increase over 2010 levels. These “Mobile-Only” customers typically connect to broadband using 3G or 4G-enabled smartphones or PC dongles, and are unable or unwilling to use a wired broadband service such as cable, DSL or fiber.

An anticipated surge in the household penetration of next-generation Internet-connected devices indicates solid consumer interest in new content to experience on these devices, according to a new study (“Connected Devices and Services: Reinventing Content”) presented today by global consulting firm Bain & Company at the Forum d’Avignon. The study finds however that while consumers are inclined to increase their adoption of online content for video consumption, video games, live entertainment and cultural activities, media companies and cultural institutions face stiff competition for incremental consumer spending unless new business models and “ambitious content” are created.

ChangeWave Research has released the results of their latest survey of the consumer tablet marketplace. The ChangeWave survey points to the recent surge of the Amazon Kindle Fire and suggests that Amazon is going to leapfrog the competition and become the number two product in the tablet market, as long as the Kindle Fire can provide a quality user experience.

More U.S. consumers are playing videogames now than ever before, even as game consoles are losing their market dominance to online and mobile gaming solutions, according to international research firm Parks Associates.

comScore has released the report Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits. The report analyzes how cross-platform consumption has created a vastly different landscape as consumers utilize a growing number of devices to consume digital content. The report also analyzes the impact these shifting consumption habits have on online visitation and engagement across the Internet.

As the mobile workforce continues to expand, so too do the opportunities for increased efficiency and productivity. In the hardcopy peripheral space, the proliferation of smart phones and tablet PCs will have a significant impact on print volume as more business users access information through their mobile devices and begin to demand certain print capabilities over the next five years. According to new survey findings from International Data Corporation (IDC), 39% of respondents say they travel for work, which represents a large and evolving workforce that has new requirements for print.

Cable will retain dominance in the global multi-channel TV market over the next five years but the threat from the new generation of digital and internet protocol (IP) services will take its toll, predicts Ovum.

Opera Software has published a new survey to explore online threats. The online survey, administered by market research company YouGov, aimed to uncover what concerns people have for their online safety and privacy. More than 1000 people in each of the United States, Japan and Russia completed the survey between 19 and 24 January. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults aged 18+ in the three countries.