South Africa : Standard bank cautions use of Internet banking from cafes

Bank warns of cyber crime syndicate, transaction risksBy Roux van Zyl, Business Reporter The Herald, South Africa
THE risk associated with internet banking was highlighted this week when Standard Bank circulated a warning about a syndicate that targets public internet cafes to steal secret account information to defraud internet bankers.
Despite the warning, local experts claim that internet banking is relatively safe in Port Elizabeth, provided the necessary precautions are taken.
He said these syndicates installed key logging software and hardware on unprotected computers that enabled them to glean secret access codes and other personal information from the computer.
"We have always advised our customers to only do their banking from a secure computer, which has all the necessary anti-virus software, and with a personal firewall, Singh said.
A network security student who works at Axxess Africa in Humewood said that doing banking at an internet cafe was fairly safe, provided that the cafe's systems were maintained regularly. "It really depends where you go. There are a few places in Port Elizabeth that are very suspect," he said.
He said a failsafe programme was installed at the cafe that deleted all programmes uploaded onto a PC while a user was surfing the internet.
SA Bank Risk Intelligence Centre (Sabric) chief executive Gilbert Swats said crime types followed commercial trends. "The more business makes use of electronics, the more crime will migrate in that direction. "It is a given that internet banking is the way of the future. It must be expected that this product will be targeted by the criminal element," Swats said. He said internet cafes were high-risk places, as were home PCs. "The question is whether it is out of proportion, given the market, and I don't think so," Swats said. He said, however, that no research was available on how many internet fraud incidents had taken place in the country over the past year.
For complete story visit : http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/biz/01_31052006.htm