Symantec recently warned that the next major global cyber security hub could be South Africa, as the country struggles to cope with the twin effects of rising broadband penetration and the World Cup tournament this summer.  Symantec predicted increased spam and phishing messages.

These words seem to be prophetic as numerous South Africans have complained about an increase in spam SMS and email messages they receive.  Many of these messages are scam and phishing emails, something which financial institutions and telecoms operators are warning about.

Currently doing the rounds

Trudon Mobile today warned against an SMS message promising recipients that they have won R1 000 000.00 (1 million) from the UK.  The SMS reads: “U have just won R1 000 000.00 (sic) @ChevronU.K (sic) lottery ur ref:012 contact Dr Gill@  (number withheld) to claim – SPONSOR http://trudon.mobi Yellow Pages listing”.

“This is a scam and Trudon has nothing to do with this so-called sponsorship,” says Lionel Smith, GM Marketing for Trudon, publishers of Yellow Pages and owners of Trudon Mobile. “We have informed the police about the scam and advise anyone who receives such an SMS not to respond to it.”

Trudon has reported the matter to the police.

Numerous local Internet users have also received an email titled “Tax Refund Notification” from the address Absa Bank [taxrefunds@absa.co.za].  The email reads “Tax Refund Notification. After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of 3,482.50 ZAR. Please submit the tax refund request and allow 6-9 days in order to process it.”

The link provided appears to be from the absa.co.za domain, but when users click on the link to “submit your tax refund” they are directed to a phishing website with a different domain name.

These SMS and email scams have become commonplace in South Africa, and the SA Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) last year warned of a rise in “phishing” attacks.  “We are presently observing an unusual increase in phishing attacks across the industry and would like to warn bank clients to be extra vigilant,” said Sabric chief executive officer Kalyani Pillay.

Pillay said that people who suspected they might have already responded to emails requesting their personal information should immediately notify their banking institutions.

Scam email & SMS – discussion