Parkview police warn the residents about cyber-crime
PARKVIEW – The Parkview police warn residents about the dangers of cybercrime and the importance of blocking banking apps after being robbed.
Parkview police advised residents to block their cellphones or laptops when they have been stolen.
This after a complainant noticed that her money had been withdrawn while busy opening a common robbery case at the station on September 23.
According to Parkview police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko, the complainant alleged that she was walking on 7th Avenue in Parktown North at around 18:30 holding her cellphone, when a grey VW Polo stopped next to another car and a well-dressed man got out of the vehicle and grabbed her cellphone. He got back into the car and it drove off. The woman was unable to get the registration number.
“The victim came to Parkview Police Station to open a case of common robbery and while doing so received a notification that an amount of R38 000 was withdrawn from her business account and the perpetrators used a cellphone banking application. Residents are advised to report and block their cellphones with their service providers,” said Sibeko.
“Cybercrime is a fast-growing area of crime. More and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity of the internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities that know no borders, either physical or virtual.”
Top 10 cybercrime prevention tips
- Use strong passwords – use different user ID/password combinations for different accounts and avoid writing them down. Make the passwords more complicated by combining letters, numbers, special characters (a minimum of 10 characters in total) and change them regularly.
- Secure your computer by using a firewall, installing anti-virus or anti-malware software, blocking spyware attacks and by being social media savvy.
- Secure your mobile devices – be aware that your mobile device is vulnerable to viruses and hackers. Download applications from trusted sources.
- Protect your data – use encryption for your most sensitive files, such as tax returns or financial records, back up all your important data regularly and store it in another location.
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