The recent exposé on Carte Blanche has once again brought phishing and other online banking scams into the spotlight. Penny Futter, Chief Information Officer at African Bank, says it is a real issue facing financial institutions and the public. She explains that phishing is when criminals use a form of electronic communication to try and extract sensitive information like usernames, passwords and credit card details. “No financial institute or individual is immune. Phishing is one of the leading contributors of fraud,” she says.
Carte Blanche reported that, according to data collected over 8 months in 2018 by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), internet banking fraud now makes up 55% of all fraud occurring through banks amounting to a R250 million loss over this period.