SCAM levels and fraud are on the rise in Zululand and residents and business owners need to become extra vigilant.
This was announced by Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice Chairman, Dave Whittaker at the Divisional AGM meeting which took place on Thursday at the Empangeni Country Club.
With the festive season upon us and business sales increasing, criminals are trying new and more elaborate ways to steal people’s money.
Emails and text messages are been sent claiming the recipient has won or inherited a large sum of money.
To receive the cash all that is required are your banking details. After this is done, your bank account is cleared out and all your money is gone.
ATM theft, where criminals steal you bank card pin, is also on the rise with a number of cases reported.
According to Whittaker another common swindle occurs after payment has been made by cheque for any sort of service or item.
Before the cheque has cleared a person will phone claiming that they have overpaid and want you to pay back the difference.
‘After a few days the cheque either bounces or is cancelled and the business has lost whatever the amount was that they paid back to the client.
‘One such case occurred here in Empangeni, however the owner was smart and realised something was not right. He did not pay the money requested and was fortunate because a few days later it was discovered the cheque had been stolen,’ Whittaker said.
‘Be careful and remember if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.’
