Discovery warns of ‘Vitality Server’ tactic used by scammers
Discovery Bank has warned South Africans that criminals are continuing to target customers using phishing tactics – especially through emails and SMSs.
In 2024, South Africa has seen a significant increase in banking fraud, particularly through phishing tactics.
Phishing is a type of online fraud where cybercriminals attempt to deceive individuals into providing sensitive information, such as banking details, passwords, or personal identification numbers.
These messages often mimic trusted organisations, like banks, in an effort to make the scam more convincing.
Once the victim enters their personal details into the fraudulent platform, the criminals gain access to their bank accounts or other sensitive information.
According to the latest statistics, financial crimes have been growing at an alarming rate, with phishing emerging as one of the most common methods used by fraudsters.
Banks and financial institutions are actively working to warn and educate their customers, but the problem continues to grow, affecting thousands of individuals across the country.
Discovery Bank is one of the many institutions that have recently raised concerns about the growing threat of phishing scams and other fraudulent tactics targeting their clients.
The bank issued a fraud alert to its customers on Monday (23 September), notifying them of this latest scam used by criminals.
The alert noted that the bank had flagged a spike in fraudsters sending fake messages.
Discovery explained that these messages often look like they are from financial institutions like Discovery Bank.
In the example provided by Discovery, the fraudsters alert clients that they are at risk of losing online access to Discovery’s Vitality Server if they do not update their details using the link.
However, the bank warned that clicking on the link and entering your personal account, card, or OTP details on the fake website enables them to perform fraudulent transactions and other types of fraud on your account.
Discovery reminded its clients not to click on suspicious links and to call its fraud team immediately on 011 324 4444.
While phishing remains a primary concern, it is not the only scam targeting South Africans. Discovery Bank and other institutions have also highlighted several other types of fraud that customers need to be aware of:
- Vishing (Voice Phishing): In this scam, criminals call individuals pretending to be from a legitimate organization, such as a bank or government institution. They use convincing language to persuade the victim to provide their banking details, OTPs, or other sensitive information over the phone.
- Card Skimming: This involves criminals using a device to capture card information from ATMs or point-of-sale machines. Once the card details are stolen, the criminals can clone the card and use it to make unauthorized transactions.
- SIM Swap Fraud: In this scam, fraudsters trick mobile service providers into transferring a victim’s phone number to a new SIM card. Once they have control of the phone number, they can intercept OTPs and other verification messages, gaining access to the victim’s bank accounts.
- Email Spoofing: Criminals send emails that appear to come from a legitimate business, often asking for payment or personal information. These emails can be difficult to spot as they use convincing logos and email addresses that closely resemble official ones.
Additionally, earlier this year, the Discovery Bank also noted
there have been reports of scammers taking advantage of the popularity of loyalty programmes by sending fraudulent messages to customers.
These messages falsely claim that the customer’s loyalty programme points are about to expire, and to redeem them, they must follow a link provided in the message.
The bank advises customers to be cautious of such messages and verify their authenticity before taking action.
Read: Discovery Bank reports R450 million loss – but moving in the right direction
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