Cybercrime on the rise in SA
Since 2001 the online crime victim count has increased 15 times, and financial losses grew more than 200 times
SOUTH Africa has become a cybercrimes hot spot, registering the highest year-on-year increase at 277%.
As more aspects of our lives become digital, so the chance of falling victim to online crimes grows every year.
While cybercrimes are dangerous, they are rarely random. Aside from being careless online, most people fall victim to these crimes because their data gets leaked by companies and institutions around the world.
This gives malicious actors the necessary information to target their victims with phishing, fraud attempts, and other scams.
According to Surfshark CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis, since 2001 the online crime victim count has increased 15 times, and financial losses grew more than 200 times, from $2,000 (R30 309) to $480,000 (over R7 million) per hour.
‘Inevitably, the privacy and cybersecurity landscape will change rapidly over the next several years. Now is a good time to focus on personal cybersecurity to stay safer online,’ said Kaziukonis.
Witnessing this problem, Surfshark developed a data vulnerability thermometer that gives users their personal risk score, potential cybercrimes, and prevention tactics depending on the data points selected.
It also contains descriptions, typology, tips, and statistics of 20 different internet crime offences aimed at individual users.
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