Public cautioned on festive season scams

WINDHOEK - With the festive season in full swing and some people enjoying their bonuses or thirteenth cheques, Standard Bank is cautioning clients to be wary of fraudsters using all sorts of tricks to gain access to their hard-earned money.

Using the excitement of the festive season, criminals prey on people who withdraw large amounts of money from their banks, those who ask strangers to assist with ATM transactions and those who share confidential information such as usernames, passwords, OTPs (One Time Pins), PINs and card security codes.

The bank, therefore, advises customers to refrain from carrying large amounts of money and to consider moving from cash-based to electronic channels, such as internet banking, cell phone banking and point-of-sale devices.

Also, people should avoid requesting strangers for assistance at ATMs, as this may result in criminals gaining access to their confidential information, such as PINs and OTPs, and use that to withdraw money.

The bank also reminds customers of the vishing scam, which is the act of impersonating a bank employee in an attempt to scam victims into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. ‘Identify theft’ is the act of using someone else’s identity (personal identifying information like their name and identity number), without their permission, to gain access to their bank accounts. Fraudsters pretend to be Standard Bank officials and call customers to manipulate them into sharing their personal information such as One Time Password (OTP), ATM PIN, credit or debit card number, card expiry date, card verification value (CVV) number, etc. 

Scammers ask customers to upgrade (such as activating SMS notifications or increasing loan limits), verify or confirm their personal account information, failing which they are made to believe their accounts would be suspended. 

Another fraud that is also prevalent is the phishing scam by which unsuspecting victims are asked to click on email links that look genuine but are fake, causing customers to divulge sensitive information such as bank account details.

Standard Bank has assured its clients and the general public it will never ask for their OTPs, ATM PIN, credit card or debit card number, card expiry date, or card verification value (CVV) number over the telephone or via email, and people should, therefore, refrain from entertaining such requests through these mediums to avoid losing their hard-earned money.