Consumers advised on how to avoid fraudsters this festive season
JOBURG - CONSUMERS are urged to caution against becoming victims of fraud as the festive season steadily approaches.
This according to Nitesh Patel, head of customer financial solutions and personal banking at Standard Bank, who urged consumers to remain vigilant, especially during the holiday season, and to watch out for different scams which include travel scams and the the fake listing of accommodation for rent online.
“In this instance, a con artist will place an advert for a holiday home on the Internet and they will invite an e-mail or a phone call if you are interested,” he said.
“Once you contact them, they may send you details and pictures of the accommodation, and request a deposit to secure the booking. It all looks legitimate at this point, but what you don’t know is that they have been collecting deposits from many people for the same fake unit.”
He also offered tips on how to avoid this type of scam and advised holiday-goers to ask the holiday vendor for the details of the management office as a way to match the suspect’s name with the owner.
Another tip would be to request a meeting to view the property, which Patel said a scammer would rarely agree to.
“ATM fraud is another type of scam and distracted holidaymakers are [always] the jackpot for these fraudsters.”
Patel advises residents to avoid falling for this scam by checking for visible signs of tampering on an ATM machine before making a transaction and stopping the card before it would be swallowed.
He concluded by urging residents to inform police and the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service immediately if they have been defrauded.
“There is no doubt that it is better to prevent these unfortunate events than fix them and to familiarise yourself with potential danger zones. By staying cautious in crowded holiday destinations, you should be able to have a fraud-free festive season,” he said.
Other types of scams prevalent during the festive season include:
- Fake travel agencies: This involves fraudsters creating high-quality websites of fake travel agencies, offering too-good-to-be-true deals
- Workplace theft: This type of in-office theft increases over the festive season as employees typically have more expenses and the workplace is a perfect environment for a would-be fraudster to gain access to your personal details or steal money from your workstation.
Details: Fraud Prevention Service 0860 101 248.
