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SIM-swap fraud: MTN launches prevention drive

Cape Town – Mobile operator MTN is driving a new SIM-swap strategy to try limit the incidents of fraudulent swaps that have seen people lose thousands of rands.

The company this week has announced an expansion of its 2013 programme to confirm SIM swaps via SMS.

READ: Thousands of rands lost in 'FNB, MTN scam'

“Further to implementing this process and tightened its security measures, MTN has put a halt to activation of SIM swaps processing between 20:00 and 07:00," MTN said.

"By restricting the activation of SIM swaps during working hours, MTN has ensured that customers are given an opportunity to detect and approve SIM swap requests,” MTN added.

READ: SIM-swap victim feels betrayed by FNB, MTN

MTN further said that it would go on an education campaign to alert subscribers to the new SIM swap programme.

“During the month of April, MTN will embark on a campaign where it encourages its customers to provide a secondary number or e-mail address for SIM swap verification purposes."

More than 100 Fin24 users have complained that they have been victims of SIM swap scams where their compromised information led to financial losses.

What do you think of MTN's SIM-swap prevention drive? Will it work? Tell us by clicking here.

READ: Dozens of cellphone users hit by SIM-swap scam

Bank warnings

First National Bank (FNB) has this year warned clients to be aware of phishing scams where people receive emails purportedly from the bank, requesting logins details.

Standard Bank has also warned its clients against doing banking at internet cafés where spyware could potentially be loaded on to machines.

Meanwhile, cyber criminals are increasingly targeting South African mobile devices with malware able to mimic legitimate web pages and even overlay applications to fool users into handing over sensitive information, Kaspersky Lab recently reported.

Mobile malware is able to intercept banking details like One Time PIN, user names and password information.

READ: Advertising malware targets SA smartphones

- Follow Duncan on Twitter

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