Jacquiline Pack 

During the festive season, fraudsters also ramp up their activities to trick, coax and swindle customers into cooperating to steal their hard-earned money. 

They do this through various methods. The common techniques are phishing, vishing and smishing. These tactics are known as social engineering, where fraudsters exploit human vulnerabilities rather than system flaws. 

Phishing involves fraudsters sending emails to customers pretending to be from a reputable institution like their bank. The email usually has an urgent tone, urging customers to update or share their details by clicking a link in the email. When a customer clicks the link, the scammers gain access to the customer’s computer and all their sensitive information. 

Bank Windhoek never sends emails asking customers to update their details, and will never include a link in an email for that purpose.

Vishing, or imposter scams, is the telephonic equivalent of phishing. 

It is the act of using the telephone to scam the customer into surrendering confidential information, such as passwords and bank account details, to gain access to their accounts.

Customers should never share confidential information or their banking details over the phone. If a customer finds themselves in such a situation, they should immediately end the call and notify their branch. 

Banks do not call their customers to solicit personal banking details.

Smishing stands for SMS Phishing. Like phishing, a message with an urgent tone is sent to the customer to act. The customer is asked to provide private information such as passwords or credit card information. Customers are advised not to click any links via SMS or call the number. 

For self-protection, customers should never share personal and account information, especially their banking Personal Identity Number (PIN), by telephone, email or via the internet. 

They should also know that banks like Bank Windhoek will never ask them to confirm their personal information over the phone. If they receive a transaction notification that they did not make, customers should call the bank and stop all transactions. 

Vigilance against fraudsters’ tricks and scams remains one of the most effective defences against theft and fraud. 

Customers who fall victim to a scam or suspect being targeted in a hoax should contact the Bank Windhoek customer contact centre at Tel: 061 299 1200 to report the incident immediately.

*Jacquiline Pack is Bank Windhoek’s executive officer of marketing and corporate communication services.