A hotspot for cyber attacks

REPORTS have revealed that South Africa has the third highest number of cybercrime victims globally. With Valentine’s Day around, people have been warned to refrain from making online transactions.

Some of the forms of cybercrimes include phishing, identity theft, internet/ATM wire fraud, child pornography, hacking and the invasion of privacy.

Kyle Condon, managing director of D&K Management Consultants, an investigation and risk consultancy, said South African citizens are most often hit with phishing and pharming attacks, which are committed to gain access to one’s identity.

“Both methods are designed to extract personal information from victims, such as identity numbers, account details, and other sensitive, personal information. This is normally done by the creation of an official and bona fide looking website, perhaps selling some or other product. Often user names, passwords and phone numbers are required. All ending up in the criminal’s hands,” said Condon.

According to 2016’s Norton report – a report that unveils and uncovers the statistics of cybercrime – 8.8 million South Africans were hit by cybercrime. Condon said he believed that people fell victim to this crime because the sites or e-mails appeared incredibly legitimate. In addition, a large majority of victims were the elderly, vulnerable because they were not aware of the latest crime trends and were not as technologically advanced as younger age groups.

“During the holiday seasons, we see a spurt in internet crime, because users become more active. Fake websites offer irresistible holiday deals, accommodation rates or specials. Facebook users start to share travel plans and destinations. This all plays into criminals’ hands,” he warned.

Condon has provided his top seven tips that people can use to protect themselves and their identity.

Change your password regularly, as this minimises the chances of it being hacked.

Never store your passwords, user names and other personal information on mobile devices as this might land in the wrong hands.

Spend money on good and recognised anti-virus software.

Don’t ignore the importance of having well-run firewalls. These defences can save you from many of the cybercrime viruses out there.

Use encryption for all your sensitive data and protect your identity at all costs.

Consider your actions very carefully before sharing credit card information, identity numbers and other personal information.

Ensure your Facebook, Twitter, and other social accounts are set on “private”. Be careful what information you post. You never know who is watching ORM’s stalking.

It’s also important to be wary of e-mails that are G-mail based. All legitimate companies should have professional e-mail addresses.

According to Condon, despite best efforts, some might become victims. He believes that it is essential to report these crimes so that investigations can be instigated and the criminals brought to justice on sites and agencies, such as: onTrack.org.za; Just.ac.za; Investigators.co.za; Crimeline. co.za; Scambuster.co.za; and Easycomeeasygo.co.za