Scams target the desperate

CYBERSECURITY: BIGGEST THREAT NOT TECHNICAL FLAWS BUT EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY

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Do you also get the idea that it seems the same people are being caught by online scams? You might be right as scammers use the desperation effect against you to trick you into clicking on their scams time and again.

The narrative of cybersecurity risk often revolves around sophisticated hacking tools or zero-day vulnerabilities but the most significant threat to South African consumers is not a technical flaw but an emotional vulnerability rooted in a national financial crisis, Anna Collard, SVP of Content Strategy and CISO Advisor at KnowBe4 Africa, said.

"The approaching high-expenditure festive season together with the persistent cost-of-living squeeze create a widespread state of financial anxiety in an already difficult economy and cybercriminals are actively exploiting the resulting desperation.

"For consumers facing debt, job insecurity or mounting household expenses, the promise of a quick financial solution, whether it is a 'too good to be true' deal, a competition win, or an unsolicited income opportunity, is compelling.

"This elevates the risk from a matter of basic security training to a critical vulnerability in overall human risk management."

Collard said it is almost as if your brain goes into survival mode. "The physiological effect of sustained stress and financial anxiety is a profound reduction in your cognitive capacity.