haveyoubeen SCAMMED?

IF YOU HAVEN’T ACTUALLY BEEN A DIRECT VICTIM OF A SCAM, YOU’VE EITHER JUST ESCAPED OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T. I FALL INTO ALL THREE CATEGORIES, WRITES ANNE SCHAUFFER think it’ll happen to us. I was downsizing, and put up a Nintendo Wii on Facebook Marketplace. One of many respondents was so persistent – he worked in Pretoria, absolutely wanted it, but couldn’t get to me instantly so he’d make payment now, send through proof of payment (which I received), and dispatch an Uber within an hour. The Uber was there before we’d finished cleaning the machine! Proof of payment (POP) was bogus, money never deposited.”

The bogus POP is a common scam, as North Coast resident Helen Smith discovered. She refused to be caught. She followed most of the guidelines suggested by sites like Gumtree:

• When you find an item you’d like to buy/sell, ask to meet in person to see the item and exchange money in a safe public place.

• Learn more about the seller that you’re transacting with – how long has the seller been active on the site?

• If a local transaction is not possible, never send your item before receiving the money and make sure it’s reflected in your bank account.

• Do not accept or pay using any form of anonymous payment services such as: Skrill, Bidpay, eWallet, Western Union, PayPal or Money Gram.

• Never provide your personal or banking information to others over the internet.

Armed with her camera lens, Helen met the gent at a busy, well-known shopping centre. She photographed him and his ID, he transferred the money to her on his phone while she stood there, and sent the POP instantly via SMS. Helen was happy. He walked away with the lens, and the POP was fraudulent.

What It Means

• Phishing – when fraudsters send emails that appear to be from reputable businesses, and often promise a reward (such as a Black Friday refund) to get your personal information.

• Smishing – when criminals try to get your information by making you click a link in an SMS to a fake webpage.

• Qishing – a type of phishing that uses QR codes to scam victims. If you click a QR code, always check the website URL you’re directed to.

• MFA fatigue – Multifactor authentication (MFA) fatigue is a method criminals use to flood your authentication app with push notifications in the hope you’ll accept their false authentication, allowing them access to an account or device. Always check that you are authenticating the right push notification.

Bank scams are tougher. The irony is that the scams are largely successful because of our fear about being scammed: the latest is the remote access scam, used to gain access to online banking accounts. Fraudsters under the guise of your bank, call you and offer to help you block a fraudulent transaction – they ask you to download and install protective software on your PC. Once you’ve done that, they’ll ask you to enter your details and log into your banking profile. If you do it, your screen goes black, and you’ll start receiving OTPs to confirm transactions you didn’t do. The scammer then asks for the OTPs so they can block the transactions immediately. This is used to defraud you.

Marilyn Smith was caught similarly: “I’m not an idiot, but I feel like such a fool.” Her bank’s fraud division called to ask if she’d just made a R30 000 transaction. She was horrified: “No. The woman said we needed to hurry to stop this, and – yes, I responded to the OTP request – and she said consolingly, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve stopped the transaction’.” Marilyn can’t bear thinking about her own gushing gratitude to the scammer: “I couldn’t stop thanking her!”

Twenty minutes later, a second call came through from her bank asking if she’d just done internet banking for R30 000, R25 000 and R60 000? Marilyn said, “But I’ve just spoken to you.” So, this time it was her “real” bank – the previous caller wasn’t. The nightmare began. The scammer had withdrawn those three amounts. After four agonising months, Marilyn recouped the R60 000 paid into one bank, but not the other two paid into another – her bank gave her R4 500 “as a goodwill gesture”. The police to whom » she had reported it, although kind and efficient, said, “We’ll never catch them. Never do. They open an account and close it immediately.”

Bottom line: Steer clear of interacting with unknown links and downloading unknown software, say the banks. If you’re contacted by so-called bank representatives asking you to download or follow links, end the call and contact customer services. Banks will never ask you to forward OTPs, or to download software and enter banking details. Never disclose to anyone (including bank officials) sensitive information, such as your username, password, card and PIN details.

Never think it’s not possible. You may have an IQ that’s the envy of MENSA members, but scammers are very clever in areas you aren’t: “We narrowly escaped being caught for more than R20 000 when someone hacked into our Mweb email account and falsified the banking details on a legitimate handwritten invoice,” says Christi Naude.

“I’ve just been caught for R10 000,” says Jaco Wolmarans. “I bought a lens from a photographer who is, or was, a member of a Facebook closed group for Nikon photographers.” On the face of it, reputable, but still, Jaco checked him out. He had a profile on Instagram, Twitter, and his Facebook account went back several years: “I asked him a technical question about the lens – it checked out, so I paid the money, and he went off to Postnet to send it.

I checked in with him several hours later, asking for the tracking number – no response. Phoned him, but he didn’t pick up. Next morning, I received a message from him saying he had been T-boned by a taxi on the way to Postnet and was off to the doctor to have himself checked out. Later that afternoon, he messaged me that he thought the lens had been damaged in the crash, and he was not happy sending it. He would rather return my money.

“A week later, nothing. He stopped accessing his Facebook Messenger account, WhatsApp messages went undelivered – the whole ‘ghosting’ thing.

“A forensic investigator friend secured some extra telephone numbers and a home address from the seller’s multiple applications for credit. He was in deep financial trouble, had been for a while. I discovered later, it seems he was also mentioned in dubious tones on a Canon buy/sell group.

“I warned the seller I would press charges, and I did – charge of theft under false pretences and fraud laid.” Watch this space.

Dear Customer, Your package is waiting for delivery. In order to complete the delivery, of your package, please confirm the payment. Online confirmation must be made within the next two business days, to avoid the return of your package. Follow etmy tpackage

I receive one of these a day, either via email, or an SMS. I delete them instantly. The red flags are poor grammar, punctuation, spelling, strange email addresses, and amateur layout. Scammers cut and paste legitimate logos on to a document, or produce one so similar, you won’t notice the difference.

When you are scammed, depending on the circumstances, you may not recoup your loss, but do try to ensure it doesn’t happen to others. Report it to the bank’s fraud division as soon as you can, and/ or to the platform on which you bought or sold – they’re constantly trying to improve their security. The scammer is very likely to have deleted his profile, but will possibly pop up elsewhere under a different name.

From job interviews which require a payment first … to online dating where, once you’re enamoured, he’s going to need a loan to visit you … to the 50 percent deposit you pay the vanishing fencing man, the scamming list is deep and long. Be very alert. Make your passwords complex, and reset them regularly – the pain of remembering new ones isn’t close to the agony you feel when scammed.

Of course, today, like Marilyn’s experience, she wasn’t even asked for any personal details – just the OTP – so the level of sophistication is ramping up significantly. Be on your guard – if you feel uneasy, walk away, put down the phone, don’t press that button. *

It’s distressing when you can’t do what you love, and frustrating when injuries prevent you from preparing for an important event. However, injuries are such a common part of any sport, so don’t panic: keep calm and let the physio handle it. “What we want to do is limit the extent of the injury and reduce or reverse the damage,” explains Juli-Ann Riley of Riley Physiotherapists.

“I’m sure you have all heard of PRICE (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). Although there is some controversy about this, the injured area does initially need to be rested and protected to prevent further damage, in addition to controlling pain and swelling,” says Juli-Ann. “Protection may include strapping, bracing or even using crutches. Ice may be useful to ease pain and excessive swelling,” she continues –adding that elevation, ideally 45 degrees above the heart, is also useful for swelling. “Compression may be useful if there is excessive swelling, but can have its own pitfalls. So it’s best to get advice here.”

Previously, it was common practice to use anti-inflammatory drugs after an injury, but there has been a move away from this as they can decrease the quality of healing.