Online scams: Beware of these traps on Black Friday, Cyber Monday

The danger of falling victim to criminals and online scams on Black Friday and Cyber Monday is considerably heightened, the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS),  Reana Steyn has warned consumers.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday take place on November 26 and 29. 

“While it may be considered the perfect time for shoppers to take advantage of these discounts, the dangers of falling victim to the various scams out there is heightened and can unfortunately not be divorced from these Black November offers,” Steyn warned.

She urgedshoppers to be on the lookout for suspicious activities and/or transactions on their accounts as there was an expectation of higher volumes of phishing, vishing and ATM scams.

“Social media platforms, online marketplaces and insecure websites are being used by criminals to execute a scam where an unsuspecting customer is tricked into paying in advance for goods or services that they will never receive,” Steyn  said. 

She advised consumers to research the legitimacy and security of merchants and the websites before making a purchase.

Online platforms gain momentum

While the country faced strict lockdown restrictions in 2020, there was a significant gravitation towards online shopping.  A recent article from Business Insider noted that the value of South Africa’s online retail sector has more than doubled in two years. In 2018, online stores sold R14 billion worth of goods. This grew to more than R30 billion in 2020. Online sales are expected to top R40 billion and account for 4% of all retail sales in South Africa in 2021.

Internet banking increase

Steyn said that her office had seen an increase of  31.34% in internet banking fraud related cases in 2021. The majority of people who fall victim to internet banking fraud are those who clicked on unsolicited links which they believed were from their banks.

“The victim typically receives an email that is supposedly from their bank. The email directs the victim to a proxy site to resolve an issue with their account. Once the victim enters their personal details into the site, the fraudsters have access to all the information that they need to commit identity fraud,”  Steyn said.

Other unsuspecting victims were vished into giving away this sensitive information over the phone as they believed that the person that called them was from the bank.

Steyn said Black November, the Festive season and holidays, were fertile breeding grounds for fraudsters to take advantage of consumers. 

“Consumers should not fall victim to deals that seem too good to be true.  If not identified as scams, these deals will result in consumers suffering devastating financial losses. This can occur online, over the phone, at ATMs or even when swiping their cards at point-of-sale machines,” says Steyn.  

Protect yourself from online fraud

She consumers the following tips to guard against fraud: 

• Only shop on legitimate websites. If you are unsure as to the legitimacy of the website, do research on the retailer-don’t rely on the company’s own reviews;• Always conduct independent checks into the seller prior to making payments, not after; andCheck the average price of a product and consider if the price is too good to be true. It may probably a scam.  Fraudulent emails are typically sent to customers to obtain the customer’s confidential internet banking access codes and passwords. Customers are encouraged to pay extra attention to email addresses that may seem genuine, and with what appears to be banking identification.

• Do not click on links or icons in unsolicited emails;

• Do not reply to these emails. Delete them immediately;

• Do not believe the content of unsolicited emails. If you are worried about what is alleged, use your own contact details to contact the sender to confirm;

• If you need to access your bank’s website, you are advised to type in the entire URL or domain name for your bank on the internet browser;

• Check that you are on the authentic website before entering any personal information;

• If you think your device might have been compromised, contact your bank immediately and request that your account be blocked;

• Create complicated passwords that are not easy to decipher. Change them often;

• Safeguard your devices. Keep your cell phones and laptop safe and discourage multiple users on your device;

• Secure your networks. Set strong passwords and ensure that the sites you shop on are secure and are the legitimate websites; the padlock on the browser must be locked; and

• Avoid public WIFI connections and internet cafes for your online banking and purchasing.