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South Africa a soft touch for cyber-criminals

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:50

With ten percent of South Africans already using the internet, cyber crime is increasing dramatically making it the fastest growing white collar crime in the country and an increasing risk worldwide.

During an international conference last week, hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), 50 international cybercrime experts finalised a formal proposal to create a stronger global movement to curb cybercrime.

"At the moment, cybercriminals see Africa as a safe haven to operate illegally with impunity," says ITU secretary-general Hamadoun Toure and warns that:"Cybercrime in Africa and other developing regions will become even worse as broadband technology takes off, allowing criminals to operate more effectively.

Whilst many people are weary of doing financial transactions over the internet, the convenience and ease with which one can buy goods through this medium has become part of everyday life for most internet users and has become a necessity for many who simply don't have the time to do business another way.

Phishing whereby fraudsters obtain banking information that enables them to gain access to accounts and then clean them out, has increased by 20 percent within the last year according to Neville Melville, outgoing ombudsman for banking services and hacking of personal and business computers and mobile phones is increasing at a similar rate.

"The anonymity, which the internet offers, is a huge advantage for fraudsters and fortune-seekers who have been quick to exploit this opportunity. Since many businesses on the web exist in virtual space, without any brick and mortar address, it is very easy to defraud and vanish," says Yoav Tchelet, director of Virtui a venture capital company that develops and invests in online businesses and has just developed www.trustme.co.za that will verify signed up websites as trustworthy and legitimate.

"While there are numerous forms of cyber crime out there, we are focusing on consumers who buy through the internet and often don't know whether a website offering a product is trustworthy and will neither defraud them nor pass on personal information," adds Tchelet. Any website with the Trustme mark has to adhere to a code of conduct that will ensure that the customer can do financial transactions with this company through the internet in a safe and secure manner.

Legislation relating to internet crime specifically is still sorely lacking and the SAPS and the judicial system are under-equipped and under-resourced to effectively investigate Internet-related crimes and to successfully prosecute the offenders. Whilst some Internet criminals have been brought to book, they are few and far between and the majority of Internet crime goes unpunished and is hardly investigated, leaving it to consumers to rely on legitimate service providers to ensure they don't fall prey to cyber-criminals.