internet fraud in Africa, Santonio Thompson

This article is about Nigeria and Ghana, becoming number one in the world for online fraud. The article stated that seven percent of all the transactions recorded by Nigeria were fraudulent, “Africa was followed by Asia (5% of all transactions fraudulent), South America (4% Fraudulent), Europe (2% fraudulent) and North America (1% fraudulent) ”  Many of the online fraud happen on dating websites and retail websites, the most common offences were credit card fraud and identity theft.  I think that when most people think of crimes their usually violent ones but if you’re only focused on violent crimes then crimes such as these being committed in Africa so often would go under the radar. Scams on the internet are not anything new and they definitely don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. People have to learn how to protect themselves from internet scams more efficiently. One way to do this is not giving your credit card information to any kind of website because once you've put something on the internet there’s no taking it off.  I also believe that the government needs to crack down on trying to keep those people who are using the internet to scam others. It’s only natural for these criminals to continue to try and scam people because we aren't putting enough focus on catching them. I know it would not be a overnight fix but something needs to be done. Everyday people’s lives are being ruined by these schemes.  I think the best solution to the problem is to simply be more cautious if you aren't on a official retail website such as Abercrombie or Rue 21 or any well know clothing stores then you shouldn't give out your information. And anything that prompts you to enter your credit card info even if it says it’s no charge don’t do it.   

http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2013/02/22/ghana-nigeria-said-to-make-africa-worlds-number-one-online-fraud-continent/

2/22/2013  3:12 pm