Rise in Cybercrime 

A recent TGC Forensics report highlights the spike in cybercrime activities. It notes that there has been a 356% increase in identity frauds between April 2022 and April 2023, citing a report by Southern African Fraud Prevention Services.

According to Jackie Smith, head of the Buyers Trust – a subsidiary of Ooba Group – South Africa is vulnerable due to a number of variables, including economic growth and a quickly evolving digital environment.

He further noted that cybercrimes are rather “easy to commit,” and that around 90% goes unreported. 

“Cybercrimes can be committed by anyone with access to a cellphone and an internet connection, making these crimes incredibly easy to perpetrate[…]And, with only an estimated 10% of cybercrimes reported to the police, criminals feel they can operate without consequence,” he added. 

In regards to the Cybercrimes Act bill, which was signed in June 2021, media law experts claimed that the act missed opportunity. He said that although the act sought to address important problems South Africa faced, the language employed was “broad and vague.”

Cybercrime Thrives in SA

Another reason why South Africa is turning into a cybercrime hub is because of a lack in proper training of police officers to deal with cybercrime cases. This further flourish organized crime syndicates notably in the property sector, which has turned into a convenient target for cybercriminals.

Smith claimed that because to the transactions made by buyers, sellers, tenants, and landlords, these parties are vulnerable to phishing scams and data breaches. One of the most common phishing scam being the ‘deposit phishing schemes.’

Deposit Phishing Schemes

Deposit phishing schemes are carried out where cybercriminals impersonate legitimate real estate agents or legal officials to secretly intercept emails between buyers and sellers. This way, they reroute the buyer's deposit into their accounts. The fraudsters are so precise that they blur the difference between genuine emails and the fraudulent ones.

In order to protect oneself from these phishing scams, Smith has suggested the following measures:

• Be wary of email links and attachments.
• Confirm the email sender.
• Validate the website’s authenticity.
• Abstain from sharing sensitive data through email or unfamiliar websites.
• Use secure, transparent third-party options for deposit transactions.