Cape Town: The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service has warned consumers of an advance-fee scam in which perpetrators are falsely presenting themselves as SAFPS representatives.
Chief executive Manie van Schalkwyk said the SAFPS was concerned about the scam doing the rounds on social media and was urging members of the public to exercise caution and be vigilant.
“This is another example of the risk-based environment facing South African consumers and how easy it can be for consumers to potentially become victims if they are not actively looking for red flags,” Van Schalkwyk said.
He said the advance-fee scam was a form of fraud scam and a common trick that tried to lull consumers into a false sense of confidence.
The scams typically involves promising the potential victim a significant amount of money in return for a small up-front payment.
The scammer assures the victim that the payment will be used to obtain a larger sum of money. The money never materialises.
The modus operandi:
- The solicitation occurs via WhatsApp.
- The scammer pretends to be a SAFPS representative.
- The scammer promises compensation if you have been a victim of fraud.
- A payment request of R950 is made to receive a larger some of money in the form of compensation for being a victim of fraud.
- The scammer provides the victim with falsified proof of payment from Capitec bank which shows the compensation allegedly received by other victims of fraud.
- A falsified letter from the SAFPS is also used.
“Please note that the SAFPS does not operate in the above manner and will never employ these tactics.
“Should you receive a letter, a call, an SMS, an email, or a WhatsApp message soliciting payment in the name of the SAFPS, please do not comply with the requests and demands as this is a completely fake initiative designed to cause you to lose money to fraudsters.
“Alert the SAFPS of this contact immediately,” Van Schalkwyk added.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL