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Tom Muleya Fraud Insight

The title is derived from the Interpol Global Awareness Campaign on Cybercrime which is running from June 1 to 17 2022, under the hashtag #YouMayBeNext.

The campaign is the brains of the INTERPOL Cybercrime Directorate that invited member states to combat the evolving threats from cyber attacks.

People often do not think or believe that they will fall prey to cybercrime until it is too late.

The campaign aims at raising public awareness of key cyber threats, and to promote good cyber hygiene for individuals and businesses worldwide.

Against this background, Fraud Insight is taking part in this Global Awareness Campaign on Cybercrime.

Cybercrimes encompass all contactless crimes that are committed on cyber space.

Some examples of cyber-attacks or threats are ransomware scams, malware scams, social engineering scams, phishing scams, and identity theft scams. The cyber aggressors comprise of cyber spies, cyberterrorists, cyber thieves, cyber warriors, and cyber hacktivists.

In our local context, the most problematic form of cybercrime is card cloning, which has seen many millions of dollars lost among corporates and individuals to date.

The internet has turned the world into an inclusive village of global connectivity.

As a result, it has changed the way we live, study, interact, and conduct business. Technological development has also changed the way criminals now commit crimes.

Criminals are taking advantage of numerous ways by which computer systems and data can be compromised, and hence the need to seriously embrace cyber security.

Data that needs cyber security could be online banking information, medical information, and or financial information or private information amongst others.

This is the new normal we have to understand and live with otherwise the world will be inhabitable.

The global emergency of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has even further pushed the way people live on digital edge due to “work from home” strategies.

Thus Covid-19 has ushered in a new era of cyber-crime and online fraud.

Cyber fraudsters are masters at exploiting fear, uncertainty and change, to probe for weaknesses they can monetise. They moved swiftly, adapting to phishing campaigns, hunting out remote security gaps, and preying on the vulnerable.

This has seen a rise in hacking, card cloning, and identity theft and ransom ware scams.

The BIS Bulletin No.37 (Jan2021) indicated that financial institutions (Banks and insurers) has been hit by hackers relatively more often than other business sectors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The #YouMayBeNext campaign is a global noble cause.

This, therefore, means everyone must be involved in the fight against cybercrime. Why? Because everyone is affected by this crime, and the victims comprise of the general public, the corporates, and government institutions.

The cyber space has compromised the security and safety of all human beings.

I, therefore, implore you to think cyber security, practice cyber hygiene, and be careful on how you click, otherwise you may be the next victim.

Join the fight against cybercrimes. Get empowered by Fraud Insight and be part of a solution to the cyber related problem of fraud. Watch out for the next issue.

 For your feedback, WhatsApp line: 0772 764 043, or e-mail:[email protected]. Tom Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the CID Commercial Crime Division (CCD) Northern Region. He is also a member of the National Cyber Security Taskforce, Zimbabwe. He is currently a participant in the Interpol Global Awareness Campaign on Cybercrime running from June 1 2022 – 17.