By Denilson Denike
In a bid to address the rising concerns surrounding cyber threats and scams in South Sudan’s digital landscape, SafetyComm in collaboration with 211Check Fact-Checking Verification has issued a joint advisory alerting the public about the dangers lurking on social media platforms.
The increasing usage of social media platforms in South Sudan has been accompanied by a surge in cyber threats and scams, fueled by the country’s growing internet and mobile telecommunication penetration. While these platforms offer immense benefits in terms of communication and information sharing, they also present significant risks to users.
Nelson Taban Kwaje, Chairperson of the Board Member at Defyhatnow, highlighted the prevalent nature of cyber threats and scams on popular platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp in South Sudan. He emphasized that these malicious activities are often carried out by anonymous online actors preying on unsuspecting users.
Kwaje pointed out various forms of cyber scams affecting South Sudan’s digital environment, including fake giveaways, fraudulent job and investment opportunities, and scholarship schemes impersonating reputable individuals and institutions. He revealed that SafetyComm has documented a total of 854 incidents of compromised social media accounts due to fraudulent activities in the country’s digital space between 2021 and 2024.
Out of the reported cases, 460 accounts were successfully recovered after seeking assistance from SafetyComm, while 327 accounts remained unrecovered due to victims either losing their account credentials or failing to cooperate with the response team. Additionally, 67 cases are still pending recovery efforts.
Kwaje disclosed that a significant portion of cyber threats and scams incidents, with percentages as high as 57.3% from Facebook, 22.8% from WhatsApp, and 18.9% from Instagram, have been recorded in South Sudan. Notably, very minimal incidents were reported from Telegram and none from Twitter.
The issuance of the joint advisory aims to raise awareness among the general public and social media users in South Sudan about the prevalent risks, including false alarms regarding Facebook page verification, community standards violations, and threats of copyright infringement leading to potential account shutdowns.