The psychological toll of online scams

By MWANGI GITHAHU

Online scams continue to evolve in the digital, connected age and while the financial cost of these frauds can be instantly apparent to victims and their connections, what is often less tangible is the psychological toll that these rackets have on people.

KnowBe4 Partners , the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, recently undertook a survey into the growing problem of online scams and how these pervasive threats are affecting people across Africa.

The survey was carried out across eight African countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Mauritius, and Botswana.?

Nearly half of the 800 survey participants admitted to having fallen victim to an online scam at least once, losing thousands of dollars in the process and compromising their personal data.?

The survey’s alarming findings are to be found in the just released KnowBe4 2023 Online Scams and Victims in Africa Report which can be found here: https://shorturl.at/wyJTY?

I was recently told by a victim of such a fraud about how while she managed the loss of her money after her phone was cloned and her accounts hacked into, she was left feeling vulnerable, violated and emotionally distressed by the crime.

Some of the highlights of the survey include the fact that 40% of the respondents from eight countries had been scammed online and 43% fell for the scams as a result of distraction and multitasking.

In what can end up being a vicious cycle, experts such as KnowBe4 Africa SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist Anna Collard? said? one’s emotional states can affect a person’s judgement, awareness, and decision-making, causing them to be more vulnerable to online deception

The survey focused on what factors contributed to a person ultimately falling victim to a scam, the types of scams experienced and how it affected victims both financially and psychologically

Collard said: “The emotional toll of falling for an online scam may be more harmful than the money lost as a result.?

“For most victims, the financial consequences were not severe, with 24% saying it took them several months to recover and 10% saying it took more than a year, but the majority had no repercussions or recovered in a few days to a few weeks.

“However, when it came to healing from the psychological impact of the scam, the majority said it took them a few months (22%) and 11% said it took more than a year.”

Collard said: “While respondents were aware of scams and understood the risks, many still said they did not feel prepared, which highlights the need for regular training that gives people continuous awareness of scams and the threat they pose, to themselves and their organisations.”

In South Africa, while organisations like the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS; https://www.safps.org.za/ ) have done significant work to address the impact of fraud and scams on the South African consumer, it is still worth asking whether any major battles have been won.

?Statistics South Africa (StatsSA; https://www.statssa.gov.za/ ) recently released a report discussing South Africa's crime statistics. The report shows that while more consumers report fraud to the police, there is a growing decline in reported instances.

?SAFPS chief executive Manie van Schalkwyk said: "This is concerning if we consider the potential financial impact of these crimes. Especially in instances where a person's life savings are lost."?

A key finding of the StatsSA report is that consumers who do not live in urban areas are more likely to become victims of fraud and scams than consumers who do live in these areas.?

SAFPS Head of Product Development Nazia Karrim said the experience of such victims is exactly why the SAFPS developed Yima, an innovative platform that features scam prevention and detection tools that South Africans can use to manage their risk when it comes to falling victim to a scam.?

Further, consumers can use Yima to report scams and secure their identity. They can also make use of the Verify’m functionality to biometrically verify the identity of a fellow South African citizen.?

Karrim said consumers can also educate themselves on identifying a scam or if they are being targeted by scammers. These tools, free of charge, will enable consumers to surf the internet safely.

?Karrim said: "While Yima does not prevent online transaction banking fraud, it allows consumers to shop online more confidently by ensuring that they are using a verified website.?

“Furthermore, the education component of Yima allows consumers to go about their daily lives aware and informed about fraud.”

?A key component of the website is the ability to report a scam incident or any suspicious activity to the SAFPS.?

This suspicious activity includes a fake or suspect-looking online shopping website/portal and instances where the user has received phoney banking information.?

Additionally, Yima users will have access to the consumer products and services offered by the SAFPS, such as the Protective Registration, which protects against identity theft and impersonation.

Karrim adds that a company that provides a once-in-a-lifetime offer can be tempting in the current economic environment.?

"However, if something looks too good to be true or sounds like an unbelievable deal, it is usually a scam.”