What Are Scams?

A scam is a fraudulent or dishonest act that is intended to deprive you of your money and essentially preys on people's desire to increase their wealth or their need for success in life. Although scams fundamentally exist to cheat victims out of their money, scams can also be designed to steal your personal and confidential information including identity details, PINs and passwords, bank or credit card account details etc.  

A scammer may use a personal approach that includes emailing you, telephoning, sending you a text message or posting an offer or advertisement online or on social networking sites.  

How Do Scams Differ From Hoaxes? 

A hoax is a falsehood deliberately contrived (made-up) to trick or deceive someone into acting upon the information or to distribute the false information to others. Hoaxes can involve a wide range of subjects – warnings about computer viruses, health risks, conspiracy theories, etc. and are by nature designed to be spectacular but are not based on any facts. 

Often the senders of hoaxes are playing a prank and exploiting the receivers’ naivety. The hoax message itself may be harmless if simply ignored however, in some instances, the hoax message may be an attempt to get hold of personal and confidential information of the intended victim as in the case of scams. 

Why Do Scams Succeed?  

Scams are not a new phenomenon and target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels. Getting caught up in a scam is also not a reflection of your naivety or poor judgement. It just shows how effective scammers have become at manipulation. Often scams also succeed because of the following reasons:  

- It looks like the real thing.  

- It appeals to a person’s needs or wants.  

- The scam links itself to legitimate and reputable companies.  

- They play on some peoples’ beliefs that all companies and organisations with internet websites are legitimate.  

- The fraudsters use “too-good-to-be-true” guarantees/claims and promises as a hook to snare your interest.  

- They use various psychological triggers and persuasive techniques to get the desired response from you:  

• Scarcity: The fear of missing out! Being told that this is the last chance or that there are only so few still available, leads most people to agree hastily before they have had the opportunity to think about what they're doing.  

• Social proof: ‘Everybody is doing it’ The scammer will refer to what the majority does to get you to agree or embark on the same course of action.  

• Reciprocation: You are offered a 'free' gift, products or services and you are caught up feeling obliged to do something or agree on something later on.  

• Shock: To get you to agree to what you don't want, scammers may make one outlandish offer, which they know you will reject so that later they can make one which will not appear so bad in comparison. 

Top 5 List Of Current Scams  

While we are constantly baited by scammers using SMS, email, social media or telephonically, the scams you are likely to encounter are not new and have been done time and time again. Scammers have become more sophisticated than before and now also take advantage of new and emerging technologies such as AI which enable them to reach a larger number of victims with more convincing communiqués.  

Rewards Scams 

A scam that repeatedly circulates on various social media platforms and SMS (text messages) advises members of the public that their reward points or balance is about to expire and to redeem these by clicking on the link provided in the message. The messages are designed to trick victims into clicking on the link provided which redirects to a spoofed website (with a similar design, appearance & address to Vodacom) to steal personal and confidential information (for example ID numbers or bank account details) or process unauthorised online purchases.  

Summer Promotion Scams 

Members of the public may also be contacted via SMS and voice calls and informed that they have a high-value prize, such as a vehicle, television, laptop, or other devices, as part of Vodacom’s Summer promotion. However, in order to claim the prize or confirm their participation, they are required to purchase Vodabucks, make a Donation, or provide recharge vouchers of a specified amount.  

Competition Scams 

Another variation encompasses messages advising that they have certain “rewards” comprising appliances or electronics (such as fridges, television sets etc) and in some instances also groceries. In terms of the scam victims may be required to first pay a delivery fee or insurance fees. A quotation setting out the costs may also be sent to the victim in order for payment to be made before delivery of the appliances, electronics or groceries can take place. 

Advance Fee Fraud Scams  

Scammers also target victims with calls advising that they have won cars and cash prizes, in advance fee fraud scam. In terms of the scam, the scammers will persuade/convince you to make some form of payment whether it be financial or transferring of Vodabucks to themselves in order to qualify for your prize or allow for your prize to be released. 

Vodacom Customer Loyalty Programme Scams 

This entails a scam circulating on mobisites (web-based mobile sites) and social media with the title “Vodacom Customer Loyalty Program”.  It encourages people to complete an online poll to stand a chance to win a high-value device such as a Samsung, iPhone or iPad. It further states that randomly selected winners will be required to cover delivery costs to have their gift couriered to them.  

Another variation of this scam entails asking the victim to make a small payment e.g.: R50 for subsidised courier fees, by clicking on a link. This is done in order to direct you to a site where they harvest credit card details and later commit card-not-present fraud via online purchases. 

If You Receive A Scam Or Have Been Scammed  

While it is very challenging to track down the fraudster or syndicate responsible for the scam, there are several steps you can take to stay safe from scams or reduce the potential for losses/damage if you have been scammed.  

 

• Objectively check the facts - Remember, if claims being made seems too good to be true, it probably is.  

• Trust your intuition and, if something feels wrong, call the implicated organization to validate the claims. 

• Remain vigilant as scammers often try to target your emotions by telling you that you have won a prize or money in order to get you in a heightened emotional state and therefore more likely to get caught up in the scam.  

• Exercise extreme caution with any communications requesting money, fees, or upfront payments for claiming a prize, reward or for whatever reason – these should immediately raise your suspicions.  

• Be on the lookout for unnecessary urgencies conveyed in communications as scammers will try to establish a sense of urgency in order to cloud your judgement and pressure you into acting on their requests. 

• If you doubt the legitimacy of any communication (received via SMS, email, social media, or telephonically) or that appears unusual or suspicious, contact the source directly and verify whether or not the communication was indeed true and sent by the source. 

• Check suspicious communications for improper use of company logos, branding and graphics that appear unusual or odd, and phrases and word choices that appear unprofessional. 

• Never give out your personal information, bank or credit card details to anyone you don’t know, is not a trusted source or where it appears out-of-the ordinary. Ignore and do not respond to unsolicited communications requiring you to disclose such information.  

• Don’t click on any links provided in emails or messages that you did not expect or where unsure of the sender - hover over links to see if the web address is legitimate and relates to the email or message content.  

• If you come across scams and hoaxes, report it to the implicated source/organisation/platform and warn your friends and family as well. By reporting and sharing your story, you are helping to fight back against the scammers. 

• If you suspect that you have responded to a phishing scam, contact your service provider or bank to report the attempt and request that they monitor or block your account.  

For any additional information on scams & hoaxes, please access this link