Beware new software identity theft scam

Johannesburg - Banking authorities warned consumers on Monday against a new scam designed to trick people into compromising their personal information.

"The latest scam targets home computer users and is masqueraded as legitimate telephonic calls from reputable computer software stores," the SA Banking Risk information Centre (Sabric) said on Monday.

The "stores" advised victims their systems were faulty or compromised and needed urgent remedial action, Sabric said in a statement.

"The victims are then tricked during these telephone calls to divulge their personal information and to unwittingly install or accept malware on their computers," said Sabric commercial crime general manager Susan Potgieter.

This malware enabled the criminals to access their victims' personal information, and use it to steal money from their accounts.

"Criminals always think of clever ways to sell bank customers believable stories in order to trick them into compromising their banking details and any unsolicited approaches should be treated with caution irrespective of the plausibility," said Potgieter.

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