LIFESTYLE NEWS - Black Friday is a retail period that thoroughly tests the resilience of a country’s payment ecosystem. Last year, the Black Friday weekend saw e-commerce transaction values surge by a substantial 37% year-on-year.
This growth underscores the need for continuous investment in secure, robust digital infrastructure to support the immediate demands of the retail sector, and for continuous education of consumers on secure online behaviour, said payments provider Ozow.
“Digital commerce is now the dominant force in the retail calendar, and its sheer volume during Black Friday means we must ensure that trust scales as quickly as access and adoption,” said Rachel Cowan, Ozow’s interim CEO.
“Industry data confirms the rapid adoption of instant payments, with the country's PayShap ecosystem having processed over R403bn across more than 461 million transactions since its introduction,” she said.
To counter ever increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, Ozow has partnered with Orca Fraud to embed real-time fraud orchestration across its entire payments suite. By leveraging Orca’s AI-driven platform, Ozow can monitor, detect, and respond to threats instantly, providing merchants with the confidence to scale and giving consumers peace of mind.
“This Black Friday, our commitment is simple: to provide a consistent, dynamic layer of protection for every single transaction, regardless of the payment method or channel,” Cowan added.
“We are committed to empowering consumers with both the secure technology to transact effortlessly and the knowledge to protect themselves from rising financial crime risks.”
Cowan offered the following ten essential and practical tips for customers to protect their activity during this high-stakes retail period:
Verify site security (Padlock and URL): Always ensure the website address begins with https:// and look for the padlock icon in the address bar. Scrutinise the URL for any subtle misspellings – fraudsters often create near-perfect "spoofed" sites.
Beware of phishing links (type directly): Avoid clicking on links embedded in unexpected emails, SMS messages (smishing), or social media posts. Instead, manually type the retailer's official website address directly into your browser.
Be sceptical of extreme bargains: If a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is. Cross-check the advertised price against the official retailer’s site or reputable price comparison tools to confirm its legitimacy.
Choose trusted payment gateways: When checking out, select established, verified payment providers. These systems use advanced security protocols, such as Account Verification Services and Address Verification Services, ensuring your sensitive details are never stored on the merchant’s site.
Strengthen your digital defences (Passwords & MFA): Use unique, complex passwords for every retail account. Where possible, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on your bank and high-value shopping accounts.
Guard your one-time passwords (OTPs): Never, under any circumstances, share your PINs, CVVs, or One-Time Passwords (OTPs) with anyone. Legitimate banks and payment providers will never ask for these details via email, phone call, or message.
Avoid public Wi-Fi for transactions: Do not enter sensitive payment or personal information while connected to unsecured public Wi-Fi networks (such as those in malls or coffee shops), as these are easily compromised by hackers.
Set transaction alerts and monitor statements: Enable instant banking notifications for all purchases. Review your bank statements regularly and immediately report any suspicious or unfamiliar activity to your bank.
Scrutinise social media deals and sellers: Be highly cautious of limited time offers, contests, and ads promoted by unverified or new sellers on social media. Check the seller’s credibility and history before engaging.
Keep all software and devices updated: Ensure your device operating systems, browsers, and anti-virus or security software are fully updated. These updates often contain critical patches that protect against the latest known cyber vulnerabilities.
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