According to a recent report by cybersecurity and VPN company Surfshark, South Africa has the fifth-highest density of cybercrime victims in the world. The report, which is part of Surfshark’s Data Vulnerability Thermometer, is based on open-source data from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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In 2022, 56 out of every 1 million Internet users in South Africa were victims of cybercrime, an increase of 7.8% from 2021. This pushed South Africa up one spot on the global rankings of countries with the worst cybercrime victim densities, surpassing Greece, France, Germany, Mexico, and Spain.
The United Kingdom topped the rankings for the third year in a row with 4,371 victims per 1 million Internet users, a 9% reduction from the previous year. The United States followed with 1,612 out of every 1 million users hit by cybercrime, an increase of 8% compared to 2021. In third and fourth places were Canada and Australia, with 156 and 106 cybercrime victims per 1 million users, respectively.
The report also highlighted that roughly 801,000 people worldwide fell victim to cybercrime in 2022, resulting in losses of $10 billion. Surfshark emphasized the importance of being vigilant and building up cybersecurity defences to protect both individuals and businesses.
The most common types of cybercrime were phishing, online payment fraud, extortion, tech support scams, and investment fraud. Phishing accounted for the most victims, with 300,000 recorded, but only led to an average loss of $173 per victim. Investment fraud was the most financially devastating cybercrime, with total losses estimated to be around $3.3 billion or $108,479 per victim.
Surfshark also added a noteworthy cybercrime, SIM swapping, to the report. South Africans are all-too familiar with this type of fraud, which resulted in 2,026 victims in 2022 and total losses of $72.7 million, or $35,860 per victim.
In conclusion, the report highlights the increasing prevalence of cybercrime and the need for individuals and businesses to remain vigilant and take steps to protect themselves. With cybercriminals becoming more sophisticated, it’s more important than ever to build up cybersecurity defences to prevent potentially devastating financial losses.
