THE restrictions in physical shopping activity since the start of the lockdown and consumer’s awareness about personal safety have increased the drive for online shopping in recent months.
FNB Head of Card Fraud, Senzo Nsibande, said in line with the upsurge, fraudsters have also increased their attempts to defraud consumers through Card Not Present shopping activity.
He said the latest modus operandi is that criminals contact consumers to deceive them into willingly compromising their card details and One Time Pin (OTP).
An OTP is a dynamic number generated by your bank for you to authenticate transactions when shopping online.
“Criminals will call pretending to be from your bank of choice, informing you that there?s been fraud detected on your account while offering help to reverse the transactions,” he said. Nsibande said they then ask you to read out the OTP that you have just received, which simply enables them to fraudulently purchase goods using your card details online.
“Most people unknowingly read out their One Time Pin and as a result, fall victim to fraud, ” said Nsibande. He shares important tips that you can use to protect yourself against fraud crimes during this time. These include being alert and aware of individuals contacting you pretending to be from the bank. Fraud departments or any official from a bank will never ask you to disclose your PIN or OTP.
ALSO READ: Be aware of port scam, warns Transnet
Protect your card details and ensure that you shop via secure platforms or websites.
Register for a free instant SMS service that notifies you when your card is swiped or when cash is withdrawn from your account.
Do not disclose your OTP to anyone and protect it the same way you protect your card PIN.
“Never send emails quoting your card number, expiry date and CVV number, verify any information presented on a suspicious call by checking your transaction history through the banking App or the Contact Centre using the number on the back of the card and should you suspect any fraudulent activity, immediately report the incident through the banking App,” said Nsibande.
He said online shopping continues to rise across the world and with Covid-19, the upward trend is likely to continue.
“While we continue to encourage the use thereof, we advise consumers to familiarise themselves with the new ways that criminals are using to defraud unsuspecting people. More importantly, we urge people to always protect their personal information. Banks will never request private information such as a One Time PIN or a card PIN for any reason,” concluded Nsibande.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
