While the festive season is an exciting time of year, it is equally important for customers to be vigilant when shopping to avoid falling victim to fraudsters, according to Trish Ramdhani, Head of Fraud at FNB Card.
“The number of South Africans who choose the convenience of online shopping to avoid queues has increased significantly in recent years, so it is crucial to ensure that safety is a top priority when shopping online,” Ramdhani said.
Here are 4 tips to help you protect your money against online fraudsters:
Be cautious of tricks or gimmicks
Cybercriminals create fake online stores that claim to sell hard-to-find items like beauty cosmetics or the latest gadgets. Online criminals will even place adverts on websites or social media to lure clients with pictures of the product, descriptions, reviews, and a payment process to look credible.
If you purchase from any of these sites or stores payment and personal information will be exposed to criminals. To avoid such scams you need to shop on trusted providers and platforms and verify any delivery notifications from retailers by calling them or the courier company directly. You should never click on links sent in these notifications.
Other common types of fraud that customers fall victim include phishing, vishing and smishing fraud. This type of fraud involves criminals obtaining your banking login and or card details. You should avoid responding to texts, phone calls, or emails that require confidential and personal information.
Don’t disclose sensitive information
Fraudsters will often impersonate bankers, fraud investigators, and customer service consultants to defraud consumers.
The goal of these fraudsters is to gain access to sensitive information like your pin, passwords or an One-Time PIN (OTP) which is required to authenticate transactions as well as your credentials like a username or password to access your bank accounts.
Ramdhani said: “The golden rule is to keep in mind that no reputable institution will ask you to disclose such information to their representatives. It is critical to never share such sensitive information with a third party.”
Use safer and more convenient ways to pay
Consumers can limit the risk of fraud when shopping online by choosing the safest payment methods that are available.
You should avoid using Instant EFT payments that require you to expose sensitive personal information to third-party providers.
Report suspected fraud
When doing online transactions, consumers should always exercise caution and protect themselves from possible fraud to prevent financial losses and their personal information being compromised.
Precautionary measures include paying attention to financial institutions’ safety guidelines and taking personal responsibility to ensure that safety is always a priority.
If you suspect that you have been a victim of fraud, you must immediately notify your financial institution.
“Protecting yourself is not simply limited to your bank card, but also includes being observant and practising safe banking behaviour all round, online, at ATMs or over the phone,“ Ramdhani said.
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