Although ‘tis the season to be jolly, it is also the season to be vigilant and be on high alert as criminals will try to take advantage of your carefree and relaxed mood for their benefit.
“The holidays are officially here and people have already started going on vacation and enjoying themselves with their loved ones. Unfortunately, it means that people can get lost in the jubilation and festivities, failing to be vigilant. This is particularly worrisome as criminals are on the prowl,” Standard Bank’s PR and Communication’s Manager, Surihe Gaomas-Guchu warned.
As such, Gaomas-Guchu implored customers to be on high alert when banking, especially when using bank facilities.
“There are various scams that we warn our clients to be wary of during this time of the year, scams such as the Holiday scam, SIM swap scam, Phishing, Vishing, Smishing, Spoofed website scam, Deposit and refund scam, Change of banking details scam, Key logger scam, 419 Scam, Card Fraud, Card skimming, Card swapping and Card not present (CNP) fraud,” she noted.
The holiday scam seeks to exploit potential holiday makers by falsely advertising ideal holiday packages, similar to spoofed websites; The deposit and refund scam attempts to steal goods or services from a business without actually making the necessary payments; A key-logger scam is a software or hardware computer program that records and logs every keystroke entered on the particular computer; and an A-419 scam, or advance fee scam, is a form of upfront payment or money transfer scam.
“It is hard to keep up with all the scams that criminals come up with, however it is easier for you if you know what to look out for so you do not fall victim to scams. If you win a prize and you have not entered a competition then it is a scam, the same goes for when you are requested to provide money upfront for whatever reason before the proposed transaction can take place or you are requested to confirm personal or account details via a hyperlink, icon or attachment in an email or telephonically,” she warned.
She also advised that customer use unique passwords for each account and be changed every 30 days, and also never disclose your pin number, banking username, card number and passwords.
Immediately call Standard Bank’s toll-free fraud line on 0819286 to report fraud or theft. Please have your card or account number or identity number on hand
Gaomas-Guchu advised all Blue Bankers to sign up for the Bank’s My Updates which allows you to keep in touch with what is happening as you will receive SMS and email alerts for every transaction that takes place on your account.
“Criminals are always trying to find new ways to scam you out of your money so you always need to be on high alert, do not click on attachments, hyperlinks or icons in unsolicited emails even if they appear to be from Standard Bank, keep an eye out for “fake” websites and remember to always type the URL (website address) yourself in the internet browser to access the webpage,” she concluded.