Jerome Namaseb, head of Retail Transactional Banking, has advised that a new scam has emerged, where fraudsters access and manage customers’ eWallet accounts on the FNB App. 

“We have seen this new scam making the rounds and urge our customers to take note of how it works to protect themselves.”  

Namaseb explained that, first, the fraudster will select a random cellphone number and attempt to link the eWallet of the selected number to their own smartphone, which triggers a notification (with an OTP – one time pin), asking to confirm if the customer is indeed the one attempting to link their wallet. 

The fraudster then calls the client with a fake excuse to attempt to obtain the OTP.

Unsuspecting clients then give up the OTP, which allows the fraudsters access to their eWallets for future transfers and withdrawals. “We would like to tell our customers that the OTP is sufficient control, as it seeks authorisation of the account/wallet holder. As with any PIN or password, do not give your OTP to anyone, as this step is crucial to protecting your funds. If anyone calls you claiming to be from the bank and asks you for your OTP, pin or password of any kind, hang up the phone immediately and report the incident to the bank. We reiterate again that FNB will never request any security information from you over the phone – and you, in turn, should never give out any information over the phone. Please remain vigilant and protect your hard-earned cash at all times,” Namaseb advised.