Share

5 WAYS TO HELP YOU SPOT A SCAM

accreditation
Scorpion Legal Protection
Scorpion Legal Protection

A SCAM is a dishonest scheme or a fraud, and a scammer is a person who creates these dishonest schemes to steal money from innocent people.

South Africa has its fair share of scammers.

Chances are – if you have a cellphone or an email address – you could become the target of a scammer.

Unfortunately, Thembi and Sipho had to learn this the hard way.

Some of the biggest scams at the moment are on WhatsApp and SMS. You get a message saying you’ve won cash or a new cellphone – and to collect your prize you should click on the link.

Thembi received a WhatsApp message from what she thought was a well-known retail store about winning a shopping voucher by completing a survey and sharing it with 10 other contacts.

But, once she completed the survey, she’d found that she’d unwittingly signed up for a
R7-per-day SMS service.

Scorpion Legal Protection is helping her to strike back legally.

Looking for a job can be stressful, but it becomes even more stressful with job fraudsters trying to scam you.

Scammers pose as job recruiters and place fake job postings on job-seeker websites.

When you respond to the job posting, they email you a fax number and ask you to send your documents.

Sipho received an email – supposedly from a known online trading account – about a possible interview. He was asked for a fee to be registered on a database to increase his chances.

He paid the money into the scam account and didn’t hear from them again. But with the help of Scorpion Legal Protection, Sipho got into contact with the website owners – and together they are investigating the fraudsters.

Online shopping is popular in Mzansi, making it a prime hunting ground for scammers.

Posing as reputable businesses, they send you an email to sell you goods – particularly cars – at an affordable price. After you’ve paid the money into their account you never hear from them again, and never get your car.

Another popular online scam is where you pay deposits and admin fees before signing a property rental contract. But the property doesn’t belong to the advertiser and cannot be rented.

Scorpion Legal Protection regularly helps policyholders who find themselves in similar situations to strike back legally.

The South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) combats fraud and scams. You can report fraud and scams by calling the helpline on 0860 101 248, or register on the website to access lists of names linked to fraud and scams.

  • Five ways to spot a scam:1. The contact is unexpected. 2. Poor spelling and language.3. They ask for your bank account and/or ID number.4. They bombard you with official-looking papers in legal language.5. You have to pay right away. For more information on how to beat scammers, log on to: https://www.safps.org.za/index.aspx , contact 011 867 223 or email- [email protected]

Scorpion Legal Protection is always on hand to give advice to policyholders on scams and fraudulent acts.

For an obligation-free quote, SMS “SUN” to 34453 today.

Get the best in Soccer, News and Lifestyle content with SNL24 PLUS
For 14 free days, you can have access to the best from Soccer Laduma, KickOff, Daily Sun, TrueLove and Drum. Thereafter you will be billed R29 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed.
Subscribe to SNL24 PLUS
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
What do you value most personally?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Earning tons of money
21% - 5 votes
Career Progression
4% - 1 votes
Work-Life balance
75% - 18 votes
Vote
Let us know what you think

Contact the People’s Paper with feedback on stories and how we could make dailysun.co.za even better!

Learn more
Do you have a story for the People’s Paper?

Click below to contact our news desk and share your story with SunLand!

Let's do it!