- The holiday season comes with fraudsters offering fake travel opportunities, fake online gifts and stealing people's identities.
- Looking out for spelling mistakes, offers that require your private details or passwords or offers that require you to make a full deposit of money are tips to see if you're being scammed.
- The internet makes it easy for scammers to trap unsuspecting victims.
You’ve just received an email from your go-to home appliances store letting you know you’ve just won an air fryer! All they need is your banking details and you’ll be good to go.
Sounds to good to be true, right? It probably is.
With Easter on its way and families gearing up for vacations, road trips and gatherings, scammers and fraudsters come out of the shadows and prey on the vulnerable for their hard-earned money.
Scammers are taking advantage of businesses repertoire and established names to trick buyers into sharing their private information and ultimately wiping them clean.
Organisations like South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FCSA) have warned the public about people fraudulently using well known financial services providers’ company logos, contact details and directors’ photos to scam unsuspecting clients.
Scammers are even posing as loans providers to try and swindle personal details and money from customers. Social media has also made it much easier for scammers to get ahold of people through their public profiles and try scheme them out of their private details.
The FCSA explains that, "The internet has made it easier to defraud people all over the world. Remember a con artist, isn’t a man in a black mask. These con artists look just like you and me, except for the fact that they want to steal your hard earned money. Con artists can purchase lists of targeted groups, use automated data-gathering tools, and post to discussion groups at almost no cost and with complete anonymity."
As much as the Easter holiday season is a time for joy and bringing family together, it’s also a time where fraudsters target the masses when they might be distracted with getaways and wrapping up work for their much-needed holiday break.
- Phishing: This scam makes use of lying techniques to convince you to get your personal information such as passwords and details. Fraudsters get you to send them these details by winning your trust through various ways over email or SMS.
- Fake online gifts: Scammers use the latest technology to set up fake retailer websites that look like genuine online retail stores. They may use clever designs and layouts, possibly stolen logos. After making a number of sales, the stores disappear. They also use social media to advertise their fake website, so do not trust a site just because you have seen it advertised or shared on social media.
- Travel fraud: The thought of going to a warm vacation spot in the winter or visiting a foreign country is exciting. But what seems like a great deal may turn out to be a bad trip. You'll know you're being scammed if you must pay everything upfront or you need to make reservations through a specific company and the costs are higher than they would be if you used your own travel agent or made the arrangements yourself.
- Identity fraud: Identity fraud is when one person uses another person’s personal information, without them knowing, in order to commit a crime or to deceive or defraud that person. You will need to give out personal information that legitimate businesses would never ask you for, such as your ID number, bank account details, Pin number etc. For example, the fraudster opens an account using your ID number and buys clothes on the account.
TRUELOVE got in touch with Neven Narayansamy, spokesperson for specialist loans provider DirectAxis, who gave us some tips on how to protect yourself from these scams
1. Read emails and messages carefully
Scammers will try mimic your loved ones or companies to fool you into giving them your personal details.
“Be suspicious of e-mails or messages from friends that seem out of character or from well-known companies that contain spelling or grammatical errors, or other inconsistencies such old logos or Gmail addresses rather than a company domain e-mail.
“Similarly be cautious if the name seems similar, but not quite the same as that of a legitimate company,” Neven explains.
2. Make sure you trust where you’re buying from
If you’re doing some online shopping, make sure you’ve done enough research on the store and have read the latest reviews.
“Only shop on or transact on reputable websites and either bookmark your trusted sites or type the URL into your browser. Never click on a link you’ve been sent – it could take you to a bogus site.”
3. Never share your passwords
This may seem like a given, but some scammers are fluent enough with their wording to have you second guessing whether it’s coming from a reputable place or not.
The rule of thumb is to never let anyone know of bank card PIN codes, passwords or account numbers, especially if you’re being asked for the first time.
“Don’t share your passwords or PIN numbers with anyone on any channel, even if they claim to be from a bank or other financial service provider. No reputable financial institution will ever ask for this information,” they tell us.
“Never let bank or other transactional cards out of your sight. If you do lose a card report it and immediately put a hold on the card. The same applies to your cellphone, particularly if you use it for banking.”
4. Don’t click the popups
Another tip that might sound obvious, but scammers are becoming more and more tech savvy to trick computer users into clicking harmful links posing as trusted companies.
“Don’t download software from pop-up windows. Scammers use all the channels they can including phone, e-mail and social media. Be careful about answering unsolicited messages. Install anti-virus software and update it regularly.”
5. Check your credit rating
Your credit score shows you how well (or not) you pay off your bills, the amount of debt of you hold and how that compares to other buyers. Knowing what your credit rating is will keep you abreast of if there are any suspicious changes.
“Frequently check your credit rating. You can use free online tools such as Pulse. A sudden, negative change in your rating could indicate someone is using your personal information fraudulently.”
