As the festive season gains momentum, consumers are advised to think before they click when shopping online.
The advice comes from Heino Gevers, security specialist at Mimecast, who notes cyber criminals are becoming ever more convincing in their e-mail attacks aimed at conning the recipient into divulging their personal information.
Online scams remain one of the biggest threats to card security in SA, which has been labelled the second most targeted country in the world for Internet fraud and phishing attacks, according to a recent survey conducted by FNB and Visa.
Retailers or banking institutions are often used in phishing e-mails, in which duplicate Web sites and e-mail addresses are created with the purpose of confusing the viewer, he says.
According to Gevers, the "think before you click" mentality involves being more sceptical of specials sent via e-mail.
"Never click on links blindly - rather scrutinise the source, check the sender's address as well as the Web site URL. If the special looks too good to be true, it probably is."
He also urges consumers to only buy from reputable suppliers and vendors. "Avoid any retailers that look like they might be fly-by-night operations and those you're not familiar with."
Check for contact details and give them a call first if you're uncertain. "When in doubt about the legitimacy of a special, go to your browser and type in the URL to go to the site directly. Specials will usually be loaded onto the sites as well."
Over the festive season, many retail stores send e-mails with specials and discounts to their customers.
Gevers says cyber criminals pick up on these and create duplicate mails or sites that look identical to the real thing. "Unfortunately, this type of phishing is relatively easy to do and can result in a goldmine for the phishers."
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