Internet fraud and scams on the rise |07 February 2020

• What you need to know to protect yourself of your hard-earned money

There’s been a spike in the number of scams and number of people falling victims to them through social media platforms over recent months, according to the Central Bank of Seychelles and Seychelles Bankers Association.

During a press conference held yesterday afternoon, Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) Caroline Abel and chief information security officer Jude Woodcock joined the chairman of the Seychelles Bankers Association Phillip Moustache to warn the public about the latest scams being carried out through social media platforms, Viber and Whats App, and dispense advice about how to protect themselves online and from such scams.

What is cyber fraud?

As explained by Mr Woodcock, cyber fraud is the use of the internet to defraud victims or take advantage of them. Many cyber attacks and security breaches begin with a ‘phish’, where fraudsters fool people into clicking on an infected link, email attachment or link that leads to a fake website, with the aim of tricking them into revealing personal information such as passwords, credit card or bank account details among others.

He noted common phishing strategies, namely, spoofing, whereby cybercriminals appears to use a company’s domain to impersonate the company or one of its employees and business email compromise when a cybercriminal hacks into a legitimate corporate email account through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorised transfers of funds.

Mr Woodcock also noted account takeover based scams, a form of identity theft where a cybercriminal obtains a person’s details to take over his or her online accounts and carry out fraudulent transactions.

Of the types of scams that fraudsters use to rob people of their money are ponzi schemes, romance scams and lottery scam. Get-rich-quick scams like Ponzi and Pyramid schemes usually request a payment for you to join or offer quick, high and guaranteed returns on your investment while romance scams take advantage of those looking for love or companionship and after building what seems like a trusting relationship, the scammer starts asking for money.

Also common are fake loans scams target both personal details and extorting the victim of their money, by getting them to request and pay a fee for their application to be processed. Lottery and inheritance scams work somewhat similarly, luring victims into thinking they have won or inherited a handsome amount of money, and asking them to pay a fee for the money to be released.

Such scams are targeted at both individuals and business organisations, who often fall prey to fraudulent transactions with whom they think is their supplier or international partners, with whom they communicate through email, which can be easily intercepted by online fraudsters.

Cyber fraud in the local context

The Governor of CBS has herself fallen victim to online scams, with fake Facebook and social media profiles appearing in her name, claiming that different individuals have won prize money, or offering loans from CBS. The first incident was reported in 2017, and to date, 12 cases have been reported to, in addition to a number of walk-ins and call-ins at the bank, with individuals seeking the promised loan or prize money, or simply seeking clarification on the communication.

A quick Facebook search of the Governor’s name produces at least three fake profiles in her name, although she has repeatedly made it clear that she has no Facebook account either personally or in her official capacity. Furthermore, it appears as though the CBS contact number +248 282000 is being used for the texts and calls, and CBS name is featured. Although it appears that the CBS phone number is being used, fraudsters are actually disguising their communication to make it appear that it originates from a known and trusted source (spoofing).

Once again, Governor Abel warned the public against the scam, and advised not to engage or provide personal information or pay money to anyone they meet online. She also advised the public to call CBS on 4282000 during working hours and the hotline – 2510025, after working hours for any queries.

Individuals and local business persons have also been impacted by the scams, most of which are thought to originate from the Western Africa region, namely, Ivory Coast, Benin as well as South Africa and Nigeria, as the majority of payments are remitted to such countries.

According to Mr Moustache, one Seychellois businessman has been scammed of R1.2 million and another of $300,000 (USD), although it is thought that many more persons may have fallen victim to online predators but are ashamed to come forward, or reveal the amount they’ve lost.

“The scammers are smart and sometimes prey on people’s vulnerabilities. They request that payments are transferred through money-remittance services such as MoneyGram or Western Union, where there is no paper trail. They never request for payments through bank transfers where there is a paper trail and where there is a possibility to stop the payment or call it back,” Mr Moustache added.

He launched an appeal to everyone to be more vigilant online and to take measures to protect themselves and loved ones. CBS is also playing its part, and working closely with banks and financial institutions to alert them and to advise clients as necessary.

“We are talking to banks and money changers so they too can look out for such transactions and be vigilant to guide clients that come to them. We have sent a communication to the Commissioner of Police, informing him of what is happening and the various channels that are being used. We have also liaised with the Attorney General’s Office, so we expect that these agencies who have the power of investigation start the process in looking into these scams, as it does not look as if it is going to stop,” Ms Abel noted.

Mr Moustache also warned that between this period and Valentine’s Day, it is likely that such attacks will be more frequent, particularly, romance scams.

“Both men and women are targeted with one aim, to defraud them of money. If you don’t have a partner remain single and your money will remain with you!” he said, with all seriousness.

Tips and tricks to avoid scams

In order to protect themselves against online fraudsters, Mr Woodcock advises against entertaining communications from unsolicited or unknown individuals, to not click or open attachment from unsolicited or unknown sources, to contact any company in which you are in communication with personally instead of providing personal or sensitive information over text, calls or email and to not send money to unknown sources. Furthermore, he urged that individuals should be suspicious with messages with a sense of urgency and to be on the lookout for messages with generic rather than personal greetings, poor presentation and grammar and spelling mistakes.

A further tip is to create unique and strong passwords for online accounts and to use multiple-factor authentication whenever available, and to not share passwords.

Laura Pillay