The most prominent scams reported by the banking industry during 2021 were phishing and OTP vishing.
Nthabi Nhlapo reflects on the shock that jolted her out of holiday mode when she became a credit card fraud victim. Sadly, she also discovered that not much can be done to help victims speedily when these instances are reported.
It’s time to get back to reality, and what worse way to be reminded that the dreaminess and kindness of the festive season is just a short break from real life then becoming a credit card fraud statistic? Once the elves returned to the North Pole, and the Christmas trees found their way back into their dusty boxes, thugs have started sneaking around, making Januworry more of a headache than it already is.
I hope no one else started their New Year as I did with a text on 2 January that read: “Miss Nhlapo, your CTM Store Card is ready for collection from your nearest CTM store today. Remember to take your original ID card/book or driver’s licence with you.”
This text was followed by a shocking one that immediately jolted me out of holiday mode. It read: “CTM Card: Thank you for purchasing at Shoprite Checkers… for R19 500.00.” A few minutes later, another text followed, confirming a R488 purchase. This left a balance of R11 on the card, which seemingly had a R20 000 credit limit.
All these texts would be fine, except the…
