PHILIPSBURG--The Prosecutor’s Office of St. Maarten said on Sunday that there have recently been reports of cybercrime in St Maarten. This may include simple scams via the Internet or carefully executed business e-mail comprise (BEC) fraud, as well other forms of cybercrime.
Internet scams occur when goods are purchased online and paid for in advance, but never delivered. Persons are advised to “Ensure to always enter into a legitimate arrangement with the other party concerning payment and delivery. This will prevent a lot of resentment.
“BEC fraud is business e-mail comprise fraud; for example, a criminal organisation gains access to the e-mail address and personal login details of an employee, often a director of a company. Subsequently a false e-mail is sent to another employee – often an employee in finance – with instructions to transfer a sum of money to a certain bank account. The damage can be large-scale.
“BEC fraud can be counteracted by training employees to be alert for the vulnerabilities to cybercrime. It is also important to have internal procedures in place for transferring large amounts of money. Always have employees double-check whether an instruction did in fact come from the mentioned colleague.
“Here are some general tips to help prevent cybercrime: use a strong password such as a long phrase that is easy to remember but difficult for a hacker to find out,” according to the Prosecutor’s Office press release.
“Ensure your computer and smartphone are secure and install security updates as soon as they are available. Use a virus scanner, firewall and script blockers. Script blockers are applications that stop scripts that may contain a virus. Don’t just click on a link, especially if the link is received from an unfamiliar e-mail address. Never give out your log-in details.”
The Prosecutor’s Office has devoted a prosecutor and a secretary to the fight against cybercrime, and persons can contact the office for additional information.
