Safe ePayments @ Rio Olympics 2016

          By now you must have made the planning to enjoy the best of Rio Olympics 2106. A lucky few will view the events live in Rio De Janerio, Brazil.

                    The preparations for Rio Olympics 2016 are in the last stage. Last minute fine-tuning is being done for a memorable experience for all the Participants.

          Participants at Rio Olympics 2016 are Athletes, Sports Officials, Support Staff, Volunteers, Spectator Guides, Tourists etc.

          The Games open on 5^th August 2016 and go on till 21^st 2016.

          The games are spread over 37 venues, with 206 participating countries in 42 Sports Disciplines further divided into 306 events.

          Rio de Janeiro has 32 venues, plus five football co-host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Manaus, Salvador and São Paulo.

          Millions of financial transactions take place during the run-up to the Games and also during the games.

          The Olympics are the planet’s most prestigious and most viewed games. Countries from diverse cultures participate in the games.

          The Olympic Games offer wonderful opportunities for promoting Safe ePayment techniques.  Innovative payment technologies too can be rolled out, but on a limited scale. This is to minimise damages if any, due to failure of the innovations.

          One of the ways in which Olympic Fans can see the live action in Rio is by participating in various contests. A large number of brands across the world are running contests in which the participants have a chance to win Tickets to Rio Olympics events.

By now, majority of the contests are closed and the winners have been announced.

Highlights of various contests around the world :-

01)  Rio 2016 launches new app with competition offering chance to win tickets to opening ceremony

02) THE GLOBAL "INNOVATION FOR SPORTS" COMPETITION

03)  McDonald's UK - Win a VIP trip for you and your child to Rio 2016 Olympic Games to take part in the Opening Ceremony

04)  Win a trip for 2 to see ‘Team Canada’, in Rio De Janeiro

05)  McDonald’s Sunrise Olympic Kids Program

06)  RIO OLYMPICS 2016 SUSTAINABLE FAN-BOX

07)  Hype 2016 RIO Sports Innovation Contest

08) Petro-Pass 2016 Rio Olympics

09)  Tap & Pay VISA

10)  Win a pair of tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympics in association with DFS

11)  Promote sustainability and win tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games

12)  Win a trip of a lifetime to Rio 2016

13)  Kelloggs Olympics offer

14)  Sainsbury's Olympics Tickets offer

15)  Barclays Olympics offer

16)  Nissan Olympics offer

17)  Road to RIO

18)  My Coke Olympics offer

The demographic profile of the visitors at the Games also attracts cybercriminals to try their luck.

This BoozeAllen document highlights the risks posed by cyber criminals during Rio Olympics.

The threats can be categorised into direct and indirect.

Direct Threats:- ATM Skimming, POS Skimming, Ransomware, Mobile Walware, Wife security

Indirect Threats:- Fraudulent lottery schemes, Fraudulent travel sites,

The experiences gained during FIFA World Cup 2014 will be beneficial for enforcement agencies to minimise cyber frauds.

The London Olympics were dubbed as the world’s first digital Olympics. Technology has rapidly changed since London Olympics,  and the cyber criminals have honed their skills.

11 Tips to safeguard yourself, your friends and your well wishers from Cyber Threats at Rio Olympics 2016.

Tip No 01) Remove all unnecessary APPS from your Mobile Phones.

Tip No 02) Download the latest Anti-virus program on your laptop and mobiles.

Tip No 03) Inform your Bank that you would be in Rio for the games and if possible, notify them to allow transactions on your ATM Card/Mobile Phones/Net Banking only if originated from the game cities.  

Tip No 04) Request for transaction limits on your Digital banking tools.

Tip No 05) Minimise updates on your social networks. Updates on social networks are a wonderful source of information for cyber criminals.

Tip No 06) Do not be GREEDY. Doubt any financial transaction which looks to be good to be true.

Tip No 07) Watch out for fake Wifi Networks, always ask at the venue the name of their WiFi Network.

Tip No 08) Evaluate Distress signals before acting on them. Especially distress signals emanating from friends saying’, I am near this ATM, please come quickly’.

Tip No 09) In the olden days, the Cybercriminals used misspelt words, used wrong grammar in their phisining attempts. Now days they have improved, so transact on sites only if you are 100 % sure.  

Tip No 10) Prefer one time usage digital cards, either credit or debit card

Tip No 11) Spread the joy of Safe ePayments to your fellow visitors

Additional Readings:

Deconstructing Cyber Security in Brazil

US Bureau of Diplomatic Security

Japan to train thousands on cyber-security ahead of 2020 Olympics