![]() Online fraudsters, colonial legacies and the north-south divide in Nigeria They then start interacting with the real person’s connections to deceive them into giving up sensitive information or performing financial favours.Ĭybercriminals also employ SMS phishing (smishing), using text messages to target individuals to reveal sensitive information such as login credentials or credit card details by clicking on malicious links or downloading harmful attachments. Social media phishing, meanwhile, happens when scammers create fake accounts purporting to be real people (for instance, posing as Frank’s boss). Other common vishing scams centre on offering discounts or rewards if you join a vacation club, provided you disclose your personal credit card information. Here, perpetrators use voice communication, like a phone call in which the caller falsely claims to be a bank official and seeks to assist you in resetting your password or updating your account details. Voice phishing (vishing) is another form of this scam. Meet the ‘Yahoo boys’ – Nigeria's undergraduate conmen Phishers can obtain emails from places such as corporate websites, existing data breaches, social media platforms, business cards or other publicly available company documents.Ĭybercriminals know that casting their net wide means they’ll surely catch some. The same email will be sent to many addresses. The messages often contain links to fake websites designed to steal login credentials or other sensitive information. ![]() The most common form of phishing is via email: phishers send fraudulent emails that appear to be from legitimate sources. “Phishing” is a strategy designed to deceive people into revealing sensitive information such as credit card details, login credentials and, in some instances, identification numbers. Cybercriminals don’t take breaks – so you shouldn’t ever drop your guard. However, these tips are appropriate throughout the year. These activities create more opportunities for cybercriminals to net new victims. This is especially important during the festive season as people shop for gifts and book holidays online. Given my expertise and experience, I would like to offer seven tips to help you stay safe from phishing scams. The reality is that phishing scams are here to stay and the methods employed in their execution continue to evolve. Is it possible that they assume most people are technologically astute and constantly well-informed? Or could it simply be that fatigue has set in because of the demanding nature of cybersecurity awareness campaigns? Though I have no definitive answer, I suspect the latter. In recent years I have noticed (and confirmed through research) that some organisations and individuals seem fatigued by cybersecurity awareness efforts. I am a cybersecurity professional who conducts research on and teaches various cybersecurity topics. Other friends and relatives – some of them seasoned internet users who know about the importance of cybersecurity – have also fallen prey to phishing scams. This is just one example of many from my own circles. ![]() Frank had fallen prey to a phishing scam. Once he’d sent the codes he received a second email from the “boss” requesting one more voucher.Īt that point, Frank reached out to his boss through WhatsApp and discovered he’d been duped. He asked for help and shared a link to an online platform, from which Frank bought R6,000 (about US$325) worth of gift vouchers. Recently, one of my acquaintances, Frank, received an email late on a Monday afternoon with the subject line, “Are you still in the office?” It appeared to come from his manager, who claimed to be stuck in a long meeting without the means to urgently purchase online gift vouchers for clients.
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