Fraud continues to pose the risk of serious financial losses for banking customers, and all indicators point towards the fact that there are new scams and an increasing number of the victims, says Reana Steyn, the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS).
The basic modus operandi of these scams is not new. However, over the years, there is a constant change in the execution techniques that fraudsters have applied, she said. “The success of these scams, and their evolution, is heavily guided by how the consumer will react in each situation.”
Steyn highlighted two recent matters that were investigated by her office where two private banking customers fell victim to the same scam under the exact same circumstances.
The story behind convincing the victims to disclose their confidential banking information was new. However, the basic scam remained the same, as did the results, she said.
The New Phishing MO Scam
Mr M* advised that he received emails supposedly from the South African Post Office (Post Office). The emails informed him that he had unclaimed packages waiting for him at the Post Office Head Office.
He advised the representative in the email that he in fact had a package at the Post Office which he was aware of and had not collected yet. Mr M then received an SMS from the Post Office advising him to pay a fee of R42.50 for the package to be released and sent to his nearest Post Office.
Mr M followed the instructions on the link he received, and the link opened to a…
