Real-life case study story, exactly as relayed to us:

I’ve just been phoned by the “ABSA Fraud Department”. According to them, a Chinese company was trying to set up a direct debit order from my account (and the Fraud Department wanted to cancel this “by going into Cash Send”).

The longer the phone conversation went on, the more uneasy I became, but… initially, they had a plausible response for my initial concerns.

• They reassured me (just as my legitimate bank would do) that I would never be asked for my PIN number, account details, or private information.
• They already knew the first 6 digits of my ID number.

What made me realise that it was a scam?

When I received a SMS giving me a PIN number with which to obtain cash from an ATM. A number they wanted me to give to them. That’s when I realised this was a fraud attempt.

I told them they were frauds and disconnected. Then I looked up the real ABSA Fraud Department phone number. Whilst I was trying to phone ABSA’s fraud number directly, these fraudsters kept trying to call me.

After the fourth call I answered and said, “If you phone me again, I’ll phone the police and lodge a complaint of harassment.”

Surprise, surprise! They didn’t phone back again 😄.

I got through to the real ABSA Fraud Department and they confirmed it was indeed a fraud attempt and put a stop on my online banking (which I had to sort out later).

Note to self

In the past when I’ve seen fraud reports on TV or read of them in the media I have always thought, “How can people be duped so easily?”

Now I know! The crooks are so plausible; it’s frightening.

So, what sort of a scam is this?

This type of scam is called Phone Phishing (or Voice Phishing – also known as ‘Vishing’).

How does it work?

Attackers pretend to be from a legitimate organisation, such as a bank, cell phone company or even SARS. They may use social engineering to convince you to share sensitive personal details, passwords or PINs.

What do they want?

Attackers want to steal money or gain access to login information or sensitive data.

How do you stay safe in this situation?

If anyone phones claiming to be from a Fraud Department,

• hang up immediately;
• look up the LEGITIMATE fraud department number of the institution; and
• call that number directly to ask for help.

In other words, the Meerkat Alert-er who shared this story did extremely well!

The only possible improvement to their actions would be SPEED, because the longer these fraudsters keep you talking, the more chance they have of sneaking through your defences.

Remember, most of us are socialised to be polite at all costs.

Most of us are taught from an early age to be ‘nice’. We don’t want to risk offending anyone by hanging up on them, let alone accusing them of fraud.

Fraudsters count on this, and also on pushing your panic button to make you react without thinking and give them what they ask for.