Security and Risk Complaints Online on Protection from Becoming a Victim of Fraud

Remember, your financial information is at risk all the time. Fraudsters will always come up of new intricate ways to trick you from giving credit card details. Here are some advices to protect yourself from scammers.

Shred any receipts or papers with a credit card details on it.

Fraudsters can be dumpster divers, which mean, they can use tossed rubbishes to obtain financial information from you. For this reason, it is best to shred receipts and bank statements before dumping them in the trash. 

Keep your PIN private

Do not use the same PIN code on all your cards and avoid using personal information such as your birthdate in your PIN code. If you are going to withdraw, cover up your PIN number when typing and be wary of your surroundings. It is also not advisable to write your PIN number on a piece of paper. 

Phone passwords

Passwords must be protected on a high level. If you use the same password on all your accounts, it is time to change it. Change the password on all your accounts and cards as it makes it easy for a fraudster to access all your accounts if all of them have the same passcodes.

Moreover, do not save your passwords on your computer and as much as possible, set a security pin on your mobile phone and computers to avoid unauthorized people from accessing sensitive information inside your device. 

Phone calls from your bank

Do not let your guard down especially when you are in a public place or in an internet shop doing online banking. And if you are talking to your bank, do it in a secure and private place where no one can hear any banking details about your transaction. 

One of the scam tricks fraudsters do is by trying to lure you using phone calls. They may pretend that they are from the bank and asking you to provide banking details. If this happens, don’t be afraid to ask questions and verify their identity first before providing any important information.

Viruses

To protect your computer from malicious software and spyware, install anti-virus software and make sure to keep it running and updated especially when you are online. 

Emails

Beware of suspicious emails. Fraudsters use electronic mailing to trick their victims into giving financial details. They usually pretend to be from your bank and will request that you confirm your banking details. If an incident like this happens, don’t provide information and don’t click any suspicious links in the email as it may contain malware that can steal data from your computer. Remember that a bank will never send an email to threaten you or will request any financial details of you.

Online transactions

Do not trust websites easily especially if you are making online transactions. Do not give away personal and financial details unless that site is reputable.

Online Fraud Detection: Nobody seems to know what Rudy Giuliani's cybersecurity firm actually does.

Rudy Giuliani has been tapped to "lend expertise" and to advise the Trump administration on cybersecurity.

The former New York mayor "will be sharing his expertise and insight as a trusted friend concerning private sector cybersecurity problems and emerging solutions developing in the private sector," said a brief statement from the incoming Trump administration.

But details about Giuliani's role were not immediately available.

Trump's pick of Giuliani for this position isn't all too surprising to security circles. It's widely known that he is the chief executive of his own private-sector cybersecurity venture, Giuliani Partners.

Giuliani spent much of his time consulting after leaving office as mayor of New York at the end of 2001. His venture claims to offer "a comprehensive range of security and crisis management services." His consulting firm has hired controversial staffers, and has worked for questionable clientele, reports have said.

Yet, even his cybersecurity venture's website, filled with clunky Flash components and "cyber" stock imagery throughout, doesn't advertise what it does.

For the past few months while Giuliani's name was floated for positions for the Republican's presidential campaign, we've tried to find out exactly what his company does, or can do better than any other security firm -- to no avail. (If you have information relating to Giuliani's company, there are a number of ways to contact me securely. We want to know, and we think others do as well.)

Yet, the company has made millions of dollars in contracts with various organizations, including the 2016 Olympic Committee.

Giuliani was most recently a guest speaker at the BlackBerry Security Summit earlier this year -- the day after his bizarre appearance at the Republican National Committee -- to give an equally unhinged speech comparing cybercrime to cancer and hackers to the "Mafia."

The former phone maker BlackBerry just last week announced that Giuliani's company would "assess infrastructures, identify potential cyber security vulnerabilities, address gaps and secure endpoints with the goal of offering another channel to bring customers to a new standard of security."

So clearly the company is doing something right. Right?

It's not known what Giuliani can or will bring to the table. We've reached out to the presidential transition team for more and will update if we hear back.

But right now there are more questions than answers over Giuliani's involvement, given the lack of a clear and transparent directive on what his company does or how it (if at all) will benefit the transition team and the country.

Online Fraud Detection on How and why people commit efraud

Pressure, opportunity and rationalization form the fraud triangle, which information technology security experts now believe are reasons why people commit electronic fraud.

Also, the people factor in e-payment fraud is increasing, with greed said to be responsible for 67% of fraud cases in 2015, while other causes included problems from debts and gambling, according to Dele Adeyinka, chief digital officer, Wema Bank Plc.

In a presentation, at 7th annual payment systems & fraud conference held in Lagos recently, Adeyinka, said that explanation behind fraud needs to take account of various factors, particularly, from the fraudster’s perspective.

He cautioned that individuals, financial institutions, other corporate bodies and the Government, must take serious the motivation of potential offenders; conditions under which people can rationalize their prospective crimes away and opportunities to commit crime(s); technical ability of the fraudster and expected and actual risk of discovery after the fraud has been carried out, as practical steps to nib in the bud e-payment frauds.

“A common model that brings together a number of the reasons why people commit fraud is the Fraud Triangle. This model is built on the premise that fraud is likely to result from a combination of three factors: perceived pressure; opportunity and rationalization.

“Perceived Pressure: typically based on either greed or need. Greed is said to be responsible for 67% of fraud cases in 2015. Other causes included problems from debts and gambling.

“Opportunity: Fraud is more likely in companies where there is a weak internal control system, poor security over company property, little fear of exposure and likelihood of detection, or unclear policies with regard to acceptable behaviour. Research has shown that some employees are totally honest, some are totally dishonest, but that many are swayed by opportunity. Rationalization: Some people may be able to rationalize fraudulent actions as: necessary– especially when done for the business; harmless –because the victim is large enough to absorb the impact and justified- because ‘the victim deserved it’ or ‘because I was mistreated,’” he said.

Also speaking, Kyari Bukar managing director of CSCS, highlighted the need for the industry to take a closer look at the block chain Technology, Internet of Things (IoTs) and big Data analysis.

He averred that the future of payment lies in harnessing the benefits these latest technologies bring, especially in the fight against fraud.

Speakers at the conference which had over 200 high level participation from top industry experts and public sector including the Nigerian Naval Force, FRSC, members of CeBIH, ISSAN, CCCOBIN, E-PPAN, commercial banks, E-payment providers, media houses, IT organizations, research firms, academia, audit firms, mobile payment service providers, government agencies, etc, agreed that to tackle e-payment fraud, emphasis must be on the ‘people, process and technology’.