Dubai: Tens of thousands of diehard football fans pouring in to South Africa in the coming days for the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) World Cup are sitting ducks for mobile cybercrime, suggests a leading security firm.
Symantec is warning fans from 32 nations to take precautionary measures to guard against covert electronic crimes carried out on unsuspecting revellers at WiFi sites across South Africa.
"Today's smart phones are vulnerable to malicious activity such as phishing, scam websites and even drive-by downloads where malicious codes such as Trojans can infect the device," said Symantec's Candid Wüest in a statement.
Away from home and on holiday, some soccer fans may not be as wary as they should, he said, and may use their phones more than at any other time to stay in touch internationally with friends, on websites and via e-mail.
Symantec has found real electronic 400 threats across all mobile platforms.
"Bizarrely, the biggest threat to fans is to lose their phone," Wüest said. "All major phone brands that provide access to the internet carry significant amounts of business and personal information, which, if the device is lost or stolen, can be accessed easily by criminals."
To guard against total loss, Wüest suggested that football fans back up their personal information on a home computer before travel.
In addition, when logging on to a WiFi network, make sure the service you are logging in to from a handful of accessible ones available at that spot are authentic valid services offered by the host to avoid hacking.
"Try and verify that they are valid services or you could very well find your phone has been taken over by a criminal," he warns.
Another point that might be overlooked, Wüest noted, is using discretion when using social networking sites and be careful not to advertise to the world that you are not going to be home for some time.
"It will certainly cast a damper on the experience if fans find their homes have been cleaned out while they are away enjoying 2010," he said.
Meanwhile a new so-called 2010 World Cup Lottery phishing scam that is targeting unsuspecting computer users has been discovered by Symantec researchers.
Falsely claiming to be sent by a promotions manager of the South Africa World Cup Lottery 2010, e-mails inform recipients that they have won $2.5 million (Dh9.1 million.)
The e-mail scam asserts that the lottery is approved by the South African Football Association and asks the recipient to keep the news of their lottery win private.
Fifa mobile phone risk checklist
- Use intelligent passwords.n Ensure proper security software is installed on mobile phone.n Delete unsolicited or suspicious texts immediately.
- When surfing the internet stick to legitimate or familiar websites.
- Be cautious about posting to social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
- Be careful when using Bluetooth — invisible mode is advised.
- Never leave your phone unattended. Mobile phones are in high demand in South Africa and the risk of theft is very real and the consequences of data loss can be severe.
— Sources: 2010Netthreat.com and Symantec
