Standard Bank scam warning

Standard Bank has warned South Africans of a significant rise in extortion, email, and text scams targeting banking customers. 

The bank said this rise has resulted in considerable financial implications for thousands of South Africans in recent months. 

These scams, particularly phishing, have become increasingly complex and are now targeting South Africans beyond their financial life. 

Scammers are increasingly targeting individuals seeking to change jobs, parents searching for a school for their children, or matriculants preparing to attend university.

Standard Bank’s Head of Fraud Risk Management, Athaly Khan, explained the growing sophistication of these schemes, with fraudsters continually adapting their tactics to deceive individuals into sharing sensitive information. 

In some cases, victims are even coerced into transferring money from their accounts to the fraudsters’ accounts using their banking app or an ATM. 

One of the tactics being increasingly used by scammers is fake non-compliance notifications to induce individuals to share confidential information. 

With this method, fraudsters exploit the bank’s need to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).  

They pretend to be the bank, sending customers emails and SMSs, claiming that their accounts are not FICA compliant.

“Their emails and SMSs include malicious links, urging customers to click on or risk their account being blocked or closed,” Khan explained.

Upon clicking the link, customers may be redirected to a fake login site or prompted to enter sensitive information, such as their card number, expiration date, customer verification value (CVV), or one-time password (OTP). 

In some instances, the link may disrupt the customers’ device, giving the fraudsters remote access and total control.

Impersonating SARS and the Reserve Bank

Extortion scams are also on the rise, where criminals threaten to harm individuals, expose sensitive personal information about them or tarnish their reputations unless a ransom is paid. 

“We’re increasingly seeing fraudsters impersonate respected bodies such as the South African Reserve Bank, SARS or the SAPS,” Khan said. 

“They claim to be investigating customers for serious offences, anything from fraud to money laundering.”

In some schemes, victims are given a fake account number and instructed to transfer all their funds for the duration of the “investigation.” 

In others, the criminals allege they possess compromising material such as private photographs, financial records or other personal details, and demand payment in exchange for keeping it confidential.

Khan says these fraudsters go to extreme lengths to convince the targeted individual that they are from legitimate authorities. 

This includes telephone calls, emails, documents, and sometimes suggests physical meetings where intimidation can be done physically.

“The internet has become a prime hunting ground for fraudsters. Customers need to be wary of information they share on social media platforms as cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their orchestration,” Khan said.

Standard Bank shared some tips for South Africans about what they should do if they find themselves in any of these situations –

• Stay calm, do not panic. Fraudsters often use fear to manipulate victims. Take time to verify the legitimacy of the claims.
• Never send money or click on a link in response to unsolicited messages. Legitimate organisations, including banks, will never ask for payments or sensitive information this way.
• If you believe your bank account may be compromised, contact your bank’s fraud department right away. They can help you secure your account and investigate the issue.
• Regularly review your bank and credit card statements and report any suspicious activity.

Standard Bank encouraged its customers to stay informed on the latest scams and adopt and enable features on their banking app to help protect themselves.