Windhoek
Fraudsters continue to target mourning Namibians to scam them of their money. FNB Namibia once again alerted the public to increasing death notice scams, particularly those targeting grieving family members who have placed death notice or tombstone unveilings in the local newspapers.
Rodney Forbes, area manager of the Far North Office, FNB Namibia, said a family member of his recently almost fell victim to these convincing and conniving fraudsters. “Luckily, I was around and could prevent this from happening by educating and advising the family member targeted,” he said.
Vicky Muranda, manager of corporate communications at FNB Group, added: “We warned the public about this in April and July last year and still it continues and it saddens us that innocent people continue to lose money because of this.”
Muranda explained the scam: “People who have lost their loved ones will receive a call from a person introducing him/herself to be an employee of a bank. The person would advise that the deceased had a policy with the bank and that he/she is the beneficiary to the policy.
“The fraudster would then ask for banking details of the beneficiary and identity details apparently for the deposit of the benefit. This is in actual fact just a trick and the person will call back after a while telling them that in order to hasten the payout of the claim, the customer needs to deposit a certain amount to a given account and or e-wallet, for funds to be cleared. This is not an approved bank process and always a scam.”
Muranda warned that the most important aspect people need to keep in mind is the fact that FNB would never ask customers to send the bank money via eWallet. “Never take it at face value that a caller works for the bank. Either immediately end the conversation or take down the details of the caller, and get the bank to verify these details. Never share your own details. If it sounds too good to be true – it usually is.”
“If you have suddenly inherited millions, but the caller needs your bank details and more for any transfer – do not react. If you are asked for a deposit in order to receive funds you are not aware of – chances are this is a scam. Remain alert and vigilant at all times. Suspected fraudulent activity can be reported to 061.299 2222/2101.”