Identity Theft

Q&A Identity Theft in South Africa

Costin Raiu, Chief Security Expert EEMEA, Global Research & Analytics Team at Kaspersky Lab answers some questions on Identity Theft.
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Identity Theft Can be Avoided

According to a recent report, identity theft topped the list of consumer fraud complaints filed last year with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Fraud poses a threat to consumers and the economy as a whole.

Even the most wary and sophisticated consumer may fall victim to fraudulent offers in the mail, in the media, and on the Internet. Due to the increasing popularity of payment cards, the growth of the Internet, rising personal income, and a lack of consumer awareness, instances of identity theft are becoming more and more common. Fortunately, though, it’s also fairly easy to protect yourself against it if you follow the simple guidelines outlined by MasterCard.

Companies that communicate with their customers using SMS could leave those same customers wide open to phishing, the fraudulent attempt to collect personal or banking details. Dr Piet Streicher, managing director of BulkSMS.com, a global mobile messaging company headquartered in Cape Town explains why companies need to ensure that their customers are made aware of the types of SMS messages they send out, and what, if any, information they might request via the SMS channel to reduce the risk of SMS fraud through phishing attacks.

According to the world’s largest insurance company, identity theft is one the fastest growing crimes globally and part of the battle against this scourge is to limit its life-interrupting impact by acting swiftly as soon as you think you may be a victim.
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Identity theft on the increase in SA

Minimise your risk to be a victim

In what has been called the most brazen case of identity theft in history, a man in San Francisco is currently being prosecuted for stealing a total of 130 million debit and credit card numbers online in the USA during the last two years. As one of the fastest growing crimes globally, identity theft is also becoming the crime of choice in South Africa, particularly among white collar criminals as it is so easy to execute. Bearing this in mind, it is essential that you understand the different types of identity fraud, how it happens and how to protect yourself against it.