NEWCASTLE KZN: All you need to know about the different kinds of scams

Newcastle SAPS has warned residents to be vigilant in the face of potential scams.

Lizzy Arumugam of the Corporate Communications office has provided invaluable information about the different types of scams in the area.

1. Investment fraud – “With this scam, investors are enticed into taking decisions regarding the selling or buying of investments on the grounds of false or fraudulent information,” cautioned Arumugam.
2. Travel and holiday fraud – Scammers attract their victims through low air fares and special accommodation offers, which then necessitate ‘urgent deposits’ to secure your place.
3. Auction and advertising fraud – “Adverts on products with low or fraudulent tariffs are offered on well-known websites or in newspapers to reel in victims,” explained Arumugam, adding that the victims often later discover that no products will be delivered and the seller becomes untraceable.
4. Home enterprise schemes – Scammers often use the marketing of ‘dubious health products’ (often as pyramid schemes) in conjunction with schemes where one works from home, to obtain a ‘buy-in’ amount which will never be recovered.
5. Front-door knockers – “This is when imposters who pretend to do maintenance or fundraising for welfare or recruit subscribers for magazines, often do so to gather valuable personal information or raise funds for their own pockets,” elaborated Arumugam.
6. Lottery fraud – People, especially the elderly, are conned into believing they have won a fortune… But not before they pay an amount for the ‘fortune’ to be paid out to them.
7. Phishing/Identity fraud – “The scammer sends a fraudulent message ‘on behalf of the bank’, requesting confidential banking details such as PINs, in order to transfer money from victims, or to open accounts and run up debts to the tune of thousands of rands.”
8. Cellphone identity scam – Scammers will phone cellphone users, pretending to represent their service provider and advise them that they have won extra airtime. “To authenticate the victim, they ask for the last dialled number and this information is used to do a SIM swap at the victim’s service provider,” warned Arumugam. The victim’s valid cellphone will then stop functioning – usually a few minutes after receiving the phone call.

“Thereafter, scammers receive all the victim’s SMS’s and calls on the new SIM, which often includes valuable codes and numbers forwarded by the bank during Internet banking sessions,” said Arumugam.

She concluded by urging the community to remain vigilant to avoid becoming a statistic.

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