4 tips to help safeguard your business against email fraudsters
Emails from cybercrime organisations look sophisticated, as if from a legitimate organisation. Here’s how to stay safe while handling business emails.
Photo: Pexels/Sora Shimazaki (cropped)
Lester Kiewit speaks to Zaakir Mohamed of Corporate Investigations and Forensics at CMS South Africa.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned a judgement from the Gauteng High Court in which law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenberg (ENS) was found liable for a property buyer losing R5.5 million to cyber fraud.
The victim’s email account had been hacked and criminals then made contact, pretending to be from the law firm, providing the victim with banking details of a fraudulent account.
Mohamed says the court ruling, reflecting well-established common law, should be welcomed.
"We're not always responsible in the way we use technology and cyber criminals find ways to infiltrate email systems. This particular emailing system speaks to what is commonly termed a business email compromised scam where a cyber criminal looks for a way to infiltrate an individual or company's email system by sending phishing emails, designed to look legitimate."
- Zaakir Mohamed, Corporate Investigations and Forensics - CMS South Africa
Emails from cybercrime organisations look sophisticated like they're coming from a legitimate organisation.
Mohamed shares the following tips to help stay safe against cybercrime organisations:
- Exercise vigilance and caution when it comes to suspicious emails
- Take the conversation offline by calling to verify banking details outside of the email system
- Identify possible fraudulent emails by being aware of suspicious emails asking you to click on a link - by clicking, malicious software is then embedded in your tech, leaving your information compromised
- Research the organisation: verify their email or phone number using apps designed for this. Look at the header of the email - does it match the company's website and social media pages? Look for spelling mistakes, and confirm the company's banking details
Fraudsters evoke 'urgency' and might ask you to pay a specific amount immediately. Take a moment to follow the steps above because an immediate response might cost you.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.