Fraudster poses as Standard Bank to scam South Africans

Standard Bank issued a warning to the public this morning about a fraudulent website that uses the bank’s information to offer to assist consumers with credit solutions.

The fraudster operates under the name ‘Direct Access Finance’ and claims to be located at Standard Bank Centre in Johannesburg. 

“The website attempts to garner legitimacy by associating its physical address with that of Standard Bank and links itself to one of Standard Bank’s subsidiaries, Blue Granite 2,” the bank said.

Standard Bank said this company offers to help customers with “credit solutions” and claims to be registered with the National Credit Regulator.

On its website, Direct Access Finance offers “the best long-term repayment options” for a long-term loan.

The website promises that applications can get approval within one hour and get “cash in your pocket or bank account”. It also offers same-day payout for applications that qualify for the loan.

“We’re a registered credit provider and are overseen by the National Credit Act 34 of 2005.” 

“What this means for you is that we are completely reliable, above board and take our role as honest, dedicated credit providers seriously.”

Standard Bank emphasised that Direct Access Finance is not registered with the National Credit Regulator and has no legal mandate to advise on or provide financial credit.

Standard Bank said it has no direct or indirect association with the entity in question and urged consumers not to confuse it with other legitimate financial services providers that may have closely related names.

The bank has reported the matter to the relevant regulators, and is pursuing measures for the website to be taken down. 

“We encourage the public to always ensure that they are dealing with registered financial services providers to avoid falling victim to scams of this nature,” Standard Bank said.

“Consumers are advised to borrow from registered lenders with the National Credit Regulator as they are bound by the National Credit Act.”

The National Credit Regulator provides oversight and compliance with the Act and protects customers by –

• Setting maximum interest rates and fees that can be charged
• Ensuring full disclosures of all information in an agreement
• Ensuring lenders use the correct methods lenders can use to collect debt in the case of default

Lenders registered under National Credit Act will also never charge an upfront fee for consumers to borrow money.

Registered Lenders can be verified on the National Credit Regulator website.