How to spot a possible financial scam?

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Financial fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated when it comes to playing on our fears and emotions so that we act hastily and irrationally, to our detriment.

Here are a few common scenarios

  1. You receive a phone call from your medical aid, saying that there has been a problem with the collection of your medical aid premium. To avoid losing your membership, the caller offers to assist. All you need to do, they say, is follow a link that they will email to you. They tell you that they have caught the problem just in time, but that you need to act quickly in order to retain your medical aid benefit. The email link requires you to fill in login details, which gives the fraudster access to your bank account from where they can transfer money into their own bank account.

  2. You receive an email saying that you have won a cash prize, but the prize expires in 24 hours if not claimed. In order to actually receive the prize, you need to make an upfront payment to cover taxes or costs. You also receive an email or Facebook message from a friend saying that they recently won a prize exactly like this. The message that your friend sent you explains that they did the same and that they received the cash after making payment, encouraging you to do the same. What has actually happened is that your friend’s email or Facebook account has been hacked, and the fraudster is messaging from your friend’s email or Facebook account, enticing you to make payment into a fraudulent bank account.

  3. You buy a property and need to make payment into the transferring attorney’s bank account. You receive an email which appears to be from the attorney, presenting you with a request for payment. However, the bank account details on the request for payment are the fraudster’s bank account, not the transferring attorney’s account.

  4. You receive an email from SARS stating that you have been issued with a summons letter. You need to follow a link in the email to view the letter and respond within a certain time frame to avoid a court summons. Or you receive an SMS from SARS asking you to follow a link to view “correspondence”. By clicking on the link and completing details, you may be opening up your account to the fraudster.

In general, look out for a combination of actions

  • You receive an unsolicited email or phone call out of the blue

  • They may claim to be from a company that you deal with (but not necessarily)

  • The greeting that they use is often general, for example, “Dear Customer”

  • There is some sort of a deal involved and it seems too good to be true, such as a prize that you have won (especially when you did not enter a competition)

  • There is some sort of a threat of losing out on a benefit, such as:

  • losing membership of your medical aid, or

  • having an account closed

  • Relatively fast action of some sort is required, either:

    • Making a payment, usually by EFT, possibly instant payment

    • You are asked for information such as account numbers or passwords

    • You are asked to follow a link which may require you to enter login details

    • The action above needs to be attended to urgently

    • There may be bad spelling or poor grammar in the email, although this is not always the case

      How to minimise your risk of falling prey to a financial scam 

      • Be sceptical: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

      • Before making payment, verify bank account details telephonically, by calling the phone number that you know to be correct (don’t assume that the number in the email is correct – the scammers can be very convincing over the phone)

      • If an institution calls requesting information, call them back on the number that is on their official website

      • Look for the padlock symbol on your web browser, indicating secure / verified websites

      • Avoid clicking on links in emails. Even if the sender is someone you know, their email could have been hacked)

      • Instead of following links received via email, access websites via the known web address that you usually access the website on.

      • Don’t give out any personal information

      • Keep your computer anti-virus software up to date.

      • Pay by credit card where possible, instead of by EFT

      • Don’t get pressured into responding to things quickly based on possible rewards or threats

      Netto Invest has numerous data and IT security systems to ensure your data is protected and our communications are as secure as possible. These tools are not visible to individuals, hence the need for vigilance as more of our life moves into the digital environment.


      By Cameron McCallum, CFP® CA(SA)

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