Call centres of crime

SCAM: SYNDICATES ‘MINE DATA DAILY, SELLING LEADS ON BLACK MARKETS’ >>> 'Criminals know SA is rich, vulnerable, unprotected.'

- Hein Kaiser

South Africa has become one of the world's easiest targets for cybercriminals and law enforcement locally and globally is nowhere near ready for the scale of the threat, says Australian-based cybercrime investigator Ken Gamble.

Gamble, chair of investigation firm IFW Global, has spent the past four decades fighting cybercrime. He spoke at a law enforcement side meeting to the B20 prelude to G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Much of that time has been spent tracking organised crime syndicates across the world.

He said foreign criminal groups that originate primarily in Nigeria, China, Israel and Britain, as well as smaller pockets elsewhere, have also set up substantial operations in South Africa, running call centres disguised as legitimate businesses.

"We know where they are and who they are," he said.

"Some of these syndicates have been here for more than a decade and have never been investigated. They build strong security infrastructure around themselves and they operate undetected."