Retirement is a time for you to be enjoying a more relaxed pace of life, spending time with loved ones and friends, and enjoying the fruits of your working career. However, retirees could be at risk of becoming victims of cybercrime fraudsters who are targeting your ‘nest egg’.
“The reality is that retirees are targets of brazen criminals who will exploit vulnerabilities to get access to retirement savings. As retirees are no longer economically active, any loss of funds due to a fraudulent scheme can have devastating consequences for their financial security as losses are not easily recoverable,” said Ann Cloete of Aon South Africa.
Fraudsters often come across as being genuine, sophisticated, and sincere in their approach, materialising out of thin air to be of assistance during a complex transitional phase.
“When reaching your retirement age, there are often large lump sums paid out or monthly retirement fund payments set up to be deposited into your bank account. The fraudsters will either try and get hold of your personal information or your account details to intercept any payments that are being made,” Ann explains.
Aon provides a few examples of scams being deployed by fraudsters:
Retirement fund or medical aid imposter scam
The fraudster contacts you pretending to be from your retirement fund administrator or medical aid company, often wanting confirmation of account details to process a payment(s) or to make changes to your policy.
The fraudsters…
