Capitec warns of new scam targetting customers

 ·10 Oct 2020

Capitec has warned its customers of a new scam which is specifically targeting a number of its older banking clients.

“We are aware of a new tactic used by fraudsters to target South African banking clients, particularly the elderly,” the bank said.

“Fraudsters will call you claiming to be from your bank’s fraud department, warning that there was either an attempt to commit fraud on your account or that a stop order was loaded.”

“In order for them to block this activity consumers are told to approve the confirmation messages sent to their banking app using their PIN.”

Capitec said that the fraudsters then lead the panicking consumer through the process of performing a transaction on the app, unknowingly transferring funds to the fraudster.

The financial services firm said that a bank will never call you requesting your personal details, PIN, or asking you to approve transactions.

“The best way to handle calls like these is to state that you will rather go to the nearest branch to solve the issue,” it said.

“If you suspect you have fallen victim to this scam, contact your bank immediately to report the incident.”

Common scam

Data published by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) in July showed that the weak state of the country’s economy has provided criminals with the impetus, and opportunity to commit financial crime.

“During 2019, the banking industry experienced increases in burglary and robbery incidents. However, it is evident that putting the correct collaborative structures in place is the key to mitigating these crimes which has seen these incidents decline by 16%.

“Although syndicates continue to orchestrate crimes involving the theft/robbery of physical cash, the evolution of the digital landscape has seen the emergence of cybercrime which is increasing at an alarming rate.”

Sabric said that these crimes will eventually replace many ‘traditional’ bank crimes as they transcend time and physical proximity due to their virtual nature.

The group’s data shows that digital banking incidents increased by 20% in 2019, a number that is set to rise in the future, as criminals continue to use social engineering tactics to extract personal and confidential information from victims, enabling them to transact on their accounts without authority.

Digital banking

Phishing, Vishing, SMishing and Email Hacking or Business Email Compromise are the most prominent fraud types affecting the digital banking space.

However, the banking industry has reported some isolated incidents where malware was used as a method of compromising a client’s digital banking credentials, Sabric said.

The most prominent modus operandi in Banking App Fraud is Vishing, Sabric said.

Vishing is where a fraudster phones their victim posing as a bank official or service provider and uses social engineering skills to manipulate them into disclosing confidential information. This information is then used to defraud the victim.

“It is important to note that there have been no reports where banking app software was compromised to commit fraud.

“The increase in Banking App Fraud can once again be attributed to the increased usage of this platform by bank clients,” Sabric said.


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