Windhoek
“It has once again come to the attention of FNB Namibia that unscrupulous fraudsters are using and abusing the e-Wallet product to try and scam Namibians. This scam seems to specifically target grieving families as fraudsters do their work using death notices or tombstone unveiling advertisements from newspapers,” said Vicky Muranda, Manager of Corporate Communications at the FNB Group.
“We warned the public about this in April already and still it continues and still some innocent people have lost money because of this,” she added.
Muranda explained that the most important aspect people need to keep in mind is the fact that the bank would never ask customers to send money via e-Wallet.
“If you get a request like that by someone posing to work for the bank please put down the phone and ignore this request. Also, please try and get the person’s name and which department they work in and then phone the bank back via switchboard to verify the fact that this person exists, rather than taking it at face value that the caller works for the bank. This should be done for any transactions that sound a bit strange. Rather phone once too often than too little and keep your hard earned cash,” noted Muranda.
“People who have lost their loved ones will receive a call from a person introducing him/herself to be an employee of FNB. The person would advise that the deceased had a policy with FNB and that he/she is the beneficiary of the policy. The fraudster would then ask for banking details of the beneficiary and identity details supposedly to deposit 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 unheard of and a scam,” explained Muranda.
“I would like once again to caution all customers to be wide awake and super alert and to look at and react to any finance issues carefully. It seems as if numerous money scams are continuing and unfortunately people still fall for them. Also – always remember – if it sounds too good to be true – it usually is. If you have suddenly inherited millions, but they need your bank details and more for 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, please,” warned Muranda.