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.

Don’t be a Victim | Online Cyber Scams

Don’t be a Victim to Online Cyber Scams in 2023

February is here, and already 2023 is shaping up to be a great year – especially for cybercriminals.

From blackmail to dark web posts about ransomware victims and even fake data leak reports, bad actors are making it harder than ever to stay safe online.

Drawing on insights from recent reports by Kaspersky and the South African Banking Risk Information Centre, let’s take a look at some of the newest cyber scams affecting businesses and families in SA.

cybercriminals keep getting sneakier

Two of the biggest online crime trends of the year are already emerging: data blackmail and fake hack reports.

Ransomware perpetrators have taken to blogging about their latest victims on the dark web, with countdowns to the ransom payment date and stolen data auctions becoming the norm.
If you choose to pay the ransom (experts say you shouldn’t) your data may still be sold online by cybercriminals looking to double their payday.

Another worrying trend is fake hack leaks, whereby someone claims to have hacked your website and spreads the word via social media.

This can cause reputational damage to your business and panic your employees, with hackers paying close attention to your response to guess how soft a target your business might be.

company email accounts are a prime target

Be careful what you sign up for using your company email – you could be opening the door to hackers.

Third party sign in safety has been all over the news lately, with Facebook one of the many companies to fall prey to serious cybersecurity threats.
Wherever you sign up or sign in, you’re unlocking the door – and you never know who will sneak in.

As a rule, it’s best to limit the services you sign up for with your company email and only deal with well-known e-commerce providers. If it looks shady, close the tab and move on.

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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.

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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.