Stay Safe, Avoid Scams – Black Friday

Black Friday 2024 – How to Avoid Scams & Stay Safe online

The end of November has become synonymous with Black Friday, the day when Christmas comes early, and consumers can look forward to huge savings on their favourite products.

Unfortunately, the last Friday of the month is also a day when cybercriminals like to celebrate the takings from their latest financial scams. Against the backdrop of increasing fraud cases across the country, this Black Friday is a day not only to enjoy some serious savings but also to take online safety seriously.

Here are some of the common scams that cybercriminals may try to execute on the day and the weeks leading up to it, and how you can avoid them.

If it’s too cheap to be true, it probably is

Black Friday is all about saving money, and the psychology of getting a good deal is so appealing to many consumers that cybercriminals are able to exploit it to make their scams believable.

Usually, receiving an email or social media message about a product that’s 50% or more off its normal price would raise some eyebrows. But with the generous discounts offered around Black Friday, consumers often let their guard down and fall for non-delivery scams on items that are so cheap, it’s almost unbelievable.

This type of scam generally works by offering the customer an expensive product at 20% to 30% of its price.
Following payment, the seller will typically disappear and never make delivery. Alternatively, they may deliver inferior or fake goods, an empty box, or some other type of fraudulent package.

It’s easy to avoid this scam by only dealing with reputable retailers, but even this is becoming more challenging in a time when fake websites are proliferating.

Double-check retail websites to avoid losing money

Impersonation scams have reached a whole new level with entire brands and websites being duplicated by cybercriminals.

In our article on domain name scams, we touched on the importance of verifying that the website you’re dealing with is the real deal. This is especially important for customers dealing with retailers in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.

Before you place an online order, it’s essential to ensure that the website you’re dealing with is genuine.
Googling the site and comparing the URL that comes up first in the search results with the one you’re currently browsing is one way of doing this.
If your favourite retailer offers a shopping app, it’s always safer to transact using that, rather than risk visiting a fake URL.

Beware of fake vouchers and discount codes

Another tactic cybercriminals are employing to fool unsuspecting consumers is offering Black Friday vouchers for sale which turn out to be fraudulent and unusable.

Generally speaking, retailers will never offer to sell you vouchers other than official retail gift cards.
The moment you receive an offer to pay R100 for R200 off, or a similar deal, your suspicions should be heightened.

When in doubt, the best rule of thumb is to purchase directly from your favourite retailer’s website, use the app, or even do it the old-fashioned way by going there in person on the day.

Keep your personal data safe with us on Black Friday and beyond

With fraud cases rising by 45% in South Africa, 2024 is the year to prioritise online safety.

Our comprehensive range of secure cloud storage solutions for businesses and households will help ensure that your data is kept securely in the cloud in encrypted form.

Snatch and Grab Scams of Sensitive Data | Hackers

Phone thieves snatching owners’ sensitive data

A new wave of cybercrime is sweeping SA – and this time it’s a hybrid of physical theft and personal data hacking.

Criminal gangs have been snatching smartphones and breaking into them to steal their owners’ personal information, including crucial banking details, using the very technology that’s supposed to keep the public safe.

Hackers turn police technology against innocent citizens

Data is a precious commodity in today’s society – even for criminal suspects. In recent years, law-enforcement organisations have developed technologies to break into criminals’ phones and retrieve information that could help them to prosecute crimes.

Unfortunately, weaknesses in the country’s criminal justice system have resulted in these technologies being leaked to hackers. As a result, criminals are now able to break into stolen phones and steal critical personal information, including:

Your home address
Your ID and passport numbers
Personal contact details of friends and family.
Online banking login details and access to banking apps.
Work-related financial information including credentials to gain access to company bank accounts.

The typical MO used by criminals to carry out this “double snatch and grab” crime is unfortunately all too familiar to many South Africans: criminals steal a smartphone, either by snatching the owner’s bag or briefcase, or in a mugging attempt.

The new and worrying part of the crime involves data theft in addition to the physical theft of the phone. Using stolen police technology, criminals can hack into your smartphone and help themselves to all the crucial information contained in it.

Once a device has been hacked, cybercriminals could have full access to your banking details, giving them the ability to drain your accounts and max out your credit cards.

Furthermore, it could be tricky to prove that these transactions were not authentic since they would be initiated from your device using your own credentials – unless you take quick action to prevent data theft from occurring on your stolen device.

How to protect yourself against the double snatch and grab scam

There are several ways that you can stay safe against the latest wave of personal data theft .

Activate face or fingerprint ID as an authentication method. This will require you to be present when the phone is used and may help to block access to your banking app.
Opt for two-step authentication to an email address that’s not on your phone. By keeping the login details of the email address off your device, you’ll block criminals’ attempts to use it to authenticate their transactions.
Report your phone missing as soon as it’s stolen. First, notify your bank and decouple your device from your online banking profile. Then let your mobile provider know and open a case with SAPS for insurance and fraud cover purposes.

Your data is only safe in one place: the cloud

Cybercriminals are always finding new ways to compromise your personal data. One of the best ways to keep it safe is by using secure cloud storage.

Browse our range of backup packages for businesses and families and take a hard line against cybercriminals today.

Tax Season Cyber Scams | Cyberthreats

Avoid SARS impersonators during filing season

Filing season for provisional taxpayers is officially underway, and SARS is making it easier than ever for individuals and businesses to comply by making a full range of tax submission options available online. But, like every process that uses web-based technology there’s always a risk of cybercrime and scams.

Recently, authorities have received reports of hackers and other cybercriminals misleading taxpayers. The most common scams seen to date seem to be by impersonating SARS, stealing sensitive financial information from members of the public, and even going so far as to file returns in the names of the victims and collect their tax rebates fraudulently.

In this article we take a look at some of the online crimes related to tax filing and how you can avoid becoming their next victim.

are you sure that message is really from SARS?

The tax authorities use a variety of communication methods, primarily email and text messages, to contact taxpayers and make the filing process easier.

Unfortunately, scammers have become extremely good at impersonating SARS – and that means you’ll have to be especially careful before you reply to a message that appears to come from the revenue service. Here are some pointers:

Checking the email address isn’t enough. Some scammers have managed to create email addresses using the sars.gov.za domain, giving recipients the impression that the correspondence is 100% legitimate. To combat this, it’s essential to verify that the email you receive is actually from a SARS official.
Before you reply to a SARS email or take any other action, contact your nearest SARS office, and verify that the person who sent the email really works there.
You’ll want to be especially cautious if you receive an email that asks you to re-enter your personal details or bank account information since this data is already on the SARS system. It’s extremely unlikely that anyone would ask you to enter these details online – unless they’re a scammer.

what to do if you’ve been scammed

Sometimes even the most vigilant person can become a victim of cybercrime. If you suspect that you’ve been targeted by cybercriminals posing as SARS officials, you can contact the SARS Fraud and Anti-Corruption Hotline at 0800-00-2870 or email phishing@sars.gov.za.

keep your personal information safe with secure cloud storage

Cybercriminals are thinking up new ways of stealing personal and business data by the minute. Keep your financial and sensitive information safe this tax season and into the future by using encrypted online data storage. To learn more, see our range of secure cloud storage solutions today.

Common WhatsApp scams | Mobile Apps

Most common WhatsApp scams – How to avoid them

Millions of people use WhatsApp to communicate every day, but recently, users of this essential app have been falling prey to scammers. The latest scams vary from promises of a weekly return on a specified donation to notification of the death of a family member who’s bequeathed their life savings to you.

Here’s how you can protect yourself from the latest WhatsApp message scams.

getting the message on WhatsApp: beware of fraudsters

You probably receive dozens, if not hundreds, of WhatsApp messages every day, and you’ll likely agree that the app makes your business and personal life much easier to manage. But what about the strange messages we all seem to get from unknown numbers from time to time?

Whenever you receive a WhatsApp message from a number you don’t know, the best thing to do is proceed with caution.
Unless you’re expecting a message from a new contact or a friend living overseas, you should verify the sender’s identity before responding to the message.
Make use of the convenient WhatsApp feature that lets you decide whether to block new contacts or accept their messages.

is someone in trouble – or has their WhatsApp been hacked?

It’s easy enough to filter out fraudulent WhatsApp messages sent from strange numbers, but what about a message that seems to be from a friend or relative requesting financial help?

In situations like this, our first instinct is to help the person, but if their WhatsApp account has been hacked, the money you send them will go straight into the hands of criminals.

If you receive a message from a friend, relative or colleague requesting financial assistance because of an emergency, call them right away and verify that the message actually came from them.
This will put your mind at ease and will also alert them to the possibility that their WhatsApp account has been compromised.

if it sounds too good to be true, block the number

Lately, a common WhatsApp scam has been doing the rounds. It involves sending a congratulatory message to unsuspecting users telling them that they won a prize or lottery draw. This scam has a lot in common with email and phishing scams and while most of us wouldn’t reply to this type of message in an email, people are more likely to fall prey to these scams in a WhatsApp message.

If you receive a WhatsApp message bearing an offer or “good” news that’s just too good to be true, block the sender and count yourself lucky: you’ve just avoided having your smart phone hacked.

Other WhatsApp scams to be on the alert for are crypto and trading scams – usually from people you don’t know, promising you a great return on a new trading platform.

Store scams have been around for a while but a fake Woolworths or Takelot voucher, usually forwarded to you by someone you know who’s fallen prey to the scam, can dupe even the most cautious of us.

be alert for all scams and backup your data

Being alert is an essential part of life in South Africa, both for your personal wellbeing and your data security. Keeping your personal data safe is another essential part of a safe modern life. Our range of cloud storage solutions will help you keep your personal and business information safe and encrypted in the cloud.

Beware Holiday Shopping Scams | Cybercrime

Better Watch Out – Better Beware… of Holiday Cybercriminal Scams

The festive season is here again and it’s almost time to take a well-deserved break. Unfortunately, cybercriminals never seem to take a day off – and that means we all need to be extra alert to holiday shopping scams in December and January.

Before you pack up for the holidays, it’s essential to make sure that your data security is as tight as possible.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common holiday scams you’ll encounter online and how to avoid them.

be careful what you phish for

Phishing scams have become so common that it almost seems like a cliché to fall victim to one – and yet so many of us still do.

Scammers take advantage of year- end sales and Christmas specials to send fraudulent emails to unsuspecting people and businesses at this time of year.

If you’ve received tons of promotional emails in the past few weeks, you can imagine how easy it might be for an unsuspecting victim to open one of these, love what they see in the cleverly produced images, and click on a link that leads to a dangerous URL.

There are options when it comes to avoiding this type of scam: either make sure that the emails you open really come from a well-known company or don’t open them at all.
You can just as easily browse your favourite e-commerce website and see what Christmas and New Year’s specials they have to offer.

did I really order that?

If you see an order confirmation or delivery email pop up in your inbox in the next few weeks, you’ll you want to check carefully and make sure that you haven’t been the victim of a scam.

This time of year is the season for packages and deliveries, especially now during the pandemic. That means that you are probably expecting to hear from various courier companies, especially as Christmas approaches. Scammers rely on this fact to fool their victims into opening fraudulent emails and the results could spoil your Christmas and New Year entirely.

To protect yourself, make sure that the email is from a legitimate address and contains your personal details as well as the order number you received when you purchased your goods.

When in doubt, it’s always a good idea to contact the courier directly by phone and confirm that the correspondence is legitimate.

avoiding the holiday shopping scams grinch

Make your online holiday shopping merry and bright rather than dark and dreary by sticking to a couple of basic rules:

Keep a watch over your spending and spend – try to stick to using only one credit card online, in this way you’ll be able to see exactly what you’ve spent at a glance, and keep tabs on any unusual activity on your card.
Make sure that the sites you use are encrypted and if you are shopping online in a public space – lock down your devices and online accounts before you start to shop. If you are really concerned about the public connection rather use the connection on your smartphone.
Update your operating systems and use 2 factor authentication wherever possible.

Cloud storage is the gift that keeps on giving

By taking the right precautions, you’ll increase your chances of a safe and stress-free festive season. For added peace of mind, our range of secure cloud storage options will help make sure that your business information is kept safe in 2022 and beyond.

South Africans see an increase in online shopping scams

So, while scrolling through your social media news feed you happen to ‘stumble’ across a coveted item on your must-have list – at a considerably discounted price. The discount persuades you and you take all the necessary steps to visit the supplier website, make the purchase and sit back to await it’s arrival…except the delivery will never take place.

The supplier hasn’t hit a hitch with a shoddy courier company, but rather doesn’t exist! You, yes YOU, have been scammed.

That sickening feeling you just experienced picturing yourself as the victim of an online shopping scam is the feeling hundreds, if not thousands of South Africans have recently faced and still will face in the weeks and months to come of 2021. Sadly, the truth of the matter is, South Africans are seeing a steady increase in online shopping scams.

markdown marvin takes south africans for a ride

One particular scamster company called “Markdown Marvin” has recently been in the spotlight for selling high-end televisions and Playstations at hugely discounted rates online. The products were never delivered and after several people suffered the same plight, attention was drawn to the issue through FNB. Markdown Marvin had been using FNB as their bank of choice to collect their illegal takings.

As the details of the scam came to light at FNB, the bank jumped into action to investigate the matter. Unfortunately, as with many similar frauds, the funds could not be returned to the victims as the money had already been removed from the account.

how to protect yourself against online shopping scams

So, how do you protect yourself from falling for a scam of this nature? Experts will tell you to ensure that you only purchase from well-known stores with a solid, existing reputation. However, this kind of advice is a tad unfair to new e-commerce businesses that are decent and legitimate.

There are a few other ways that you can safeguard yourself

Confirm with the banking institution that the account holder name is in fact the same as the business/supplier name. For instance, FNB offers the “Verify Owner” option on their online banking app.
Scrutinise the legitimacy of the online store in question. Does the store have a telephone number and address where you can reach someone for assistance? While not all stores that conceal their details are scams, those with transparency are a better option.
When making an online payment, the store should redirect you to confirm your transaction via your bank’s 3D secure page or via your bank’s mobile app. If the online store doesn’t do this, you should be wary and cancel the transaction.
Do online research on the company. Look for reviews and scam reports online. For instance, if you would like to see if Markdown Marvin is a legitimate store, you can Google “Markdown Marvin scam” or “reviews on Markdown Marvin” or even “is Markdown Marvin a scam?”. You will either come across a host of negative posts or positive ones – you can be the judge of them.
If you do make a payment and then start to worry that the online store is a scam, reverse the payment as soon as possible. Don’t give the scammer enough time to remove your money from their account.

Lastly, if you have been the victim of an online shopping scam, it is imperative that you report the scam as soon as possible. If you have the banking details of the scammer, contact their bank and advise them of the fraudulent activity too.

Start off 2021 on a more aware, alert and online shopping cautious note. Be safe online – shop safe! Be wise – plan regular backups of your data.

Black Friday Report Back

In the lead up to Black Friday in South Africa, shoppers who had been saving all year prepared to barge into their favourite stores and yank all their favourite products off the shelves before anyone else could. In addition to that, a whopping 43% of the South African population indicated that they planned to take advantage of Black Friday deals online – and they did. Black Friday specials abounded in SA, just like they do everywhere else in the world.

In 2018, the world spent $23 billion dollars on Black Friday sales. That’s the equivalent of R337 billion! The global Black Friday sales figures in 2018 increased by around 663% in 2019, but in South Africa, retail sales increased by 1952% compared to a regular shopping day.

The statistics and figures captured from FNB merchant machines in SA show an increase of 40% in sales from the previous year (the bank processed 7.4 million transactions which is a jump from the 5.6 million transactions it processed last year). Standard Bank merchant machines show similar jumps in sales as they report having processed 560 transactions per second across the country!

South Africans it would seem, did their homework and went into the Black Friday shopping extravaganza with a plan.

The Scams

We can tell you that Black Friday was a huge success for retail stores and online sites. It was also possibly a drag on the average consumer’s budget, but one question still begs to be answered: were there anyscams? One particular Black Friday faux pas that stands out is that of the Takealot price “problem”. You might have seen posts on social media along the lines of “Takealot’s Black Friday sale is a scam” or disgruntled shoppers complaining about the fact that the discounts offered weren’t actually discounts with the hashtag “#Takealotscam” attached

So what happened at Takealot?

According to shoppers, many of the items on sale on Black Friday on Takealot were advertised at a higher price than they had been days before the sale. And for the doubters; the screenshots that customers have of the price differences don’t lie.

There is much debate doing the rounds over whether or not Takealot was scamming its loyal customers or not.

For years, Takealot’s version of Black Friday (Blue Dot Sale), has created a considerable hype and been extremely well supported. This year, things were different. Unhappy shoppers reported the following:

Takealot prices were higher on Black Friday than on a regular day.
The prices changed on their website during the checkout process.
The payment processing page jammed.

The Takealot Rebuttal

Of course, with all the unhappy comments aimed at Takealot, the company had to intercede and have its say. Takealot made the following claims/announcements:

It is possible that two sellers were marketing the same product on Takealot at different prices.
Not all sellers on the site were/are part of the Blue Dot Sale.
If an item is sold out, the item will automatically revert to its previous non-sale price. This can even happen if a shopper is in the middle of the check-out process.

Black Friday 2020 Is Already on Its Way

Now that Black Friday 2019 is done and dusted, consumers are already stashing cash for the next one, 2020. Before then, some still need to stock up for the festive season. The best advice to online shoppers is to be careful with your cash. Do your research and ensure that you are making safe purchases.

Have you heard of any local Black Friday scams? Let us know – we would love to share them!

Phishing & Email Scams Gain Momentum in South Africa

One would think that will all the awareness campaigns around phishing and email scams, South Africa’s risk profile would be on the decline. As it turns out, it’s not. Email scams and phishing scams are always on the rise and, right now, unsuspecting South African citizens are being scammed. Whether it’s due to ignorance or carelessness, thousands of rand are being delivered into the hands of criminals via online scams.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Being aware of the latest scams and ensuring that you behave safely online are the first steps to take. Let’s take a look at the latest…

Ministry of Finance Scam

The Minister of Finance recently warned South Africans to be aware of a scam doing the rounds in the first week of October 2019. The scam involves an email that is sent to thousands of South Africans claiming to be from the Ministry of Finance. The email advised the recipient that there are millions of rand that need to be claimed from the South African Reserve Bank and that the recipient of the email is indeed one of the citizens entitled to do so. To start the claims process, the individual will need to send through their particulars, including:

Full name
Date of birth
Occupation (place of employment)
Cell phone number

The intention of this fake email is to gather the personal information of the recipient.

The Minister of Finance has spoken out against the scam and asked South African’s to ignore emails of this kind from the Ministry. It’s important to note that the Ministry of Finance will never request personal information via email.

Department of Labour Scam

Another scam that’s taken the South African community by surprise is one targeted at the Department of Labour and aims to take advantage of the desperation of some citizens.

The scam, which is social media-based, involves a fake social media page complete with Department of Labour branding. The page features an announcement that claims certain citizens, who have worked in the country between 1990 and 2019, have the right to claim/withdraw R30 000 from the Ministry of Labour. To do so, individuals must check if their name appears on a list of entitled individuals. The next step would naturally be to provide the “Department” with all their particulars, including banking details so that the claim could be paid out. Once again, a fake email is being used to gather personal information.

The Department of Labour has spoken out against this scam and informed the public that there is no such benefit in place.

Are the Criminals Winning?

Does the steady increase in phishing and email scams in the country, and the world, mean that there are no wins from the cybersecurity community? No, it doesn’t. In fact, that is where the good news comes in. Just recently, the Department of Justice in the United States made a massive breakthrough in Cyber Crime, where 281 email scammers were arrested in a major global sweep.

While South Africa didn’t appear on the list of criminals, South African citizens have undoubtedly been the target of many of these arrested criminals. The Department of Justice seized a whopping 3.7 million dollars during the operation while arresting people from the following countries:

Nigeria (167 arrests)
United States (74 arrests)
Turkey (18 arrests)
Ghana (15 arrests)
The last seven criminals were located in France, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia and Japan.

As you can see, West Africa is in the lead by leaps and bounds.

Protect Your Own Best Interests

While it might not be possible to shut down every scammer in Africa or the rest of the world, there is a way to minimise their impact. And that is through awareness. Tech users need to become savvy to the prospect of scams and be aware and alert at all times when receiving emails and other forms of communication from people and enterprises they do not know.

If something seems a bit fishy, it is best not to respond, or completely shut down communications. Also, keep in mind that any email requesting personal information over the internet is not considered safe and secure – rather avoid it. If you wish to confirm that it is, in fact, the authorised company or person making contact with you, call the company in question and speak directly to an official representative.

MTN releases warning about “Missed Call Scam”

Have you been receiving strange missed calls from international numbers recently? You could be the victim of the latest missed call scam to hit South Africa. In response this most recent scam, MTN was quick to release public warnings urging cell phone users to be cautious when receiving calls from unknown international numbers.

On the 18^th of January 2019, MTN sent out a bulk SMS informing its customers to be wary of returning calls to international numbers or responding to requests to call international numbers.

How can a missed call be a scam?

If you’ve been caught out by this scam in the past, you are not alone. And if you are wondering how a missed call can be part of some elaborate scam, it’s easier than you might think.

The intention of the call is not to steal your personal data or trick you in to making an online purchase, but rather to make you spend money.

What happens is that you receive a missed call from an international number. You assume that the call is“important”; after all, it comes from overseas. When you call the number back, you may be placed on hold for a few seconds or even minutes. While you are waiting, you are racking up a bill of hundreds of rand as you are unknowingly calling a premium rate number.

The scamster wins because they earn a portion of the amount racked up. And you? Well, you lose a lot of money that you will never get back!

How to avoid being a victim of call scams

Unfortunately, many consumers will fall victim to fraud and or scams at some point or another, but there are precautions to take to safeguard yourself better.

Install the TrueCaller app which helps to identify known spam numbers. This app will tell you when spam calls are coming through to your phone. You can easily download the app via your smartphone’s app store.
Don’t automatically return calls to unknown numbers, especially if they are overseas numbers.
If you receive a call request or a missed call from a foreign or unknown number, Google search the number first. You will be surprised at what you find, especially if the number is a spam number.
Set a limit on your cell phone contract that reduces the risk of thousands of rand in call costs being racked up.

Being aware of the potential risks is the first step to protecting yourself. The cell phone community have MTN to thank for their public awareness campaign regarding this particular phone scam.

Have you been a victim of the latest missed call scam? Let us know how it happened and how you were caught out so that we can advise other clients about the potential risks of call scams.