According to a new study by Norton, one in five online adults in South Africa have fallen victim to mobile cybercrime.<\/p>\n
Norton by Symantec published new insights into consumers\u2019 mobile use and behaviours, revealing that\u00a0that nine out of ten online adults (93%) in the South Africa are mobile device users, of which a large majority (84%) are using them to access the Internet.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are relying more and more on their mobile phones and tablets to navigate, share, socialize and shop in today\u2019s constantly-connected world,\u201d said\u00a0Kara Rawden, senior marketing manager, consumer – Middle East & Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat many consumers may not realise is exactly how much of their personal and private information is up for grabs should these devices be compromised, lost or stolen.”<\/p>\n
The mobile phone celebrated its 40th<\/sup> birthday on Wednesday (3 April), with Martin Cooper, an engineer with Motorola, making the first call from a mobile phone on 3 April, 1973.<\/p>\n And as people expand their online lives through mobile devices, many are not taking steps to secure their device and the content it contains, warns Symantec.<\/p>\n It noted that 20% of\u00a0mobile device users in South Africa admit to not always downloading applications from trustworthy source.<\/p>\n And, one in five indicated that they do not use secure payment methods when making purchases from their mobile device, leaving their sensitive information such as credit card details vulnerable.<\/p>\n In addition, more than one-quarter (28%), admitted to not using a password to help protect their personal data.<\/p>\n In the event of theft or loss, a wealth of personal information stored on the device can potentially be accessed including personal emails, a possible gateway to other sensitive information such as work correspondence and documents (64%), passwords for other online accounts (21%), and bank statements (42%).<\/p>\n The lack of precaution taken by mobile users can have unfortunate consequences for some: more than one in five mobile users in South Africa have fallen victim to mobile cybercrime. Security threats to watch out for in 2013<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n SA consumer cybercrime at R3.7bn annually<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
\n\u201cConsumers know how important it is to protect their computer from the wide range of threats they can encounter when online and off,\u201d said Rawden.<\/p>\nMore on cybercrime<\/h3>\n