According to a recent digital payment survey undertaken by Kaspersky, 61% of Nigerian Internet users respondents had fallen victim to online fraud of a sort.
Using online banking or mobile wallet services exposed Nigerian respondents to phishing schemes in 61 percent of cases, according to the Kaspersky Digital Payment survey. A startling 82 percent of people have personally been the victim of social engineering scams (through texts or calls) and 67 percent have come across phony websites.
The majority of respondents from Nigeria who were asked about their awareness of risks against digital payment systems said they are aware of both financial phishing assaults (95 percent) and online scams (97 percent ). Additionally, 78 percent said they are aware of banking malware on PCs and mobile devices. These harmful programs rob users’ bank accounts of money.
However, 98 percent believe that banks and payment providers should do more to inform customers about the risks they face online. According to the poll results, the following security aspects are most important to customers when it comes to banking apps and mobile wallets currently available:
- The use of one-time passwords (OTPs) delivered by SMS for each transaction (76 percent )
- Biometric security features such as facial recognition or fingerprint identification (75 percent )
- Need for two-factor authentication (64 percent )
- Automated transaction fraud detection and intervention (39 percent )
Encryption that is point-to-point (22 percent )
Whether we’re discussing the prevalence of phishing schemes or mobile malware, it’s crucial to set some fundamental cybersecurity guidelines. Your financial transactions may be kept secure with the help of sophisticated security solutions, which are able to block off the majority of common attack vectors, in addition to other preventive measures like good cybersecurity knowledge and consistent password changes.
Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager, Kaspersky in Africa
Kaspersky experts advise
Kaspersky experts advise the following to assist Nigerian users, and by extension Africans, in adopting digital payment technology in a secure manner:
- Avoid conducting any online purchases when connected to a public Wi-Fi network
- Avoid disclosing your password, PIN, or any other financial information to anyone, whether online or off
- To make purchases online, use a different credit or debit card. Set a spending cap on the card to help you keep track of your purchases
- Purchase from reputable, official websites
- Use Kaspersky Total Security or another reputable security program on all of your devices that you use for online payments. It aids in the detection of fraudulent or dubious activities and verifies the security of websites that are accessed
Kaspersky advises the following for developers, banks, and businesses interested in offering digital payment services:
- Make an investment in comprehensive cybersecurity solutions
- APT groups are increasing their sophisticated attacks on financial institutions. To safeguard customers and maintain company continuity, comprehensive visibility and threat intelligence are essential. Your IT teams will benefit from using the Kaspersky Threat Intelligence service to help them analyze and mitigate risks
- Consistently provide staff with training on cyber awareness. Employees will benefit from knowing the warning signs of an organization’s attack and their part in defending the company thanks to this
Our encounters with internet payments are investigated by the Kaspersky Digital Payment study. It also looks at how we view them, which is crucial to know what will either accelerate or slow down the adoption of this technology. The Middle East, Turkey, South Africa, and Nigeria were all included in the study, which was carried out by the research firm Toluna. Between February and March 2022, 2,004 respondents from the mentioned nations participated in the poll.