The Hermanus Police have urged the community to be very vigilant and guard against falling prey to fraudsters.
The police have confirmed fraud-related cases increased by 33% in the last quarter of the 2021-’22 financial year.
WO Calvin Duncan, spokesperson for the Hermanus police, said the most common modus operandi is scammers posing as bank employees from the fraud division phoning elderly people claiming that someone is trying to access their account.
“The callers are mostly females,” he said. “According to most victims they sound very genuine and believable. They convince the victims to divulge their account particulars as well as their pin numbers. Some time later they are sent an One Time Pin (OTP), which they are requested to enter in their banking app. The account is then cleared out within minutes.”
Duncan states another common way people fall prey to scammers is when they respond to adverts on platforms such as Gumtree or Facebook market places.
He explains: “The victims make EFT payments to the false bank account to buy an item without seeing or inspecting the item. Needless to say they don’t receive the items or their money back. All cellphone numbers and adverts used by these scammers are immediately closed.”
He emphasised people should not respond to such calls, but rather visit the nearest branch of their bank to report the incident. “They should also not make any payments when buying something from an advert without inspecting it first,” he added. Safety tips:. Never give your bank card and pin to anybody.. Do not give your card number, account number or any part of it, the expiry date on your bank card, the three digits on the back of your card or your password for internet banking to anyone.. Be very careful when responding to adverts on social media.. It is a scam when you have to pay money to inherit money.. Money does not grow in suitcases! Avoid traditional healers who claim they can make your money “grow”.
When your bank card gets stuck in the ATM machine, immediately call one of the phone numbers listed at the ATM for help. Do not leave the ATM without your card. People who believe they might have fallen prey to fraud can contact the Anti-Corruption Hotline on 0800 701 701, send an SMS to the Crime Line 32211 or contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
