Beware of these digital scams

Online shopping exposes consumers to greater risks.

In an increasingly digital world with consumers spending their money online, it is crucial to know how to protect yourself from the social engineering tactics scammers often use.

International players like Temu, Shein and Amazon are shaking up the local market, offering attractively lower prices for the latest gadgets or fast fashion through incessant social media advertisements.

The increasing popularity of these online shopping platforms means more consumers are exposed to e-commerce and possible fraud that may accompany these transactions, says George Wandsella, head of operational risk and fraud at TymeBank.

"Social engineering is one of the most common techniques scammers use in this environment and refers to all the techniques criminals use to exploit your trust to directly steal your money or get confidential information to enable a subsequent crime. The aim is to influence a target to reveal specific information or perform a specific action for illegitimate reasons."

A study by World Wide Worx shows that online spending in South Africa grew by 23% to R71 billion in 2023. Wandsella says as more consumers become online shoppers, cybercriminals are also getting smarter, using various social engineering techniques to scam them out of their hard-earned money.