The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) has advised consumers to be vigilant of scammers this festive season.
They say there is usually a spike in cybercrime such as card fraud, online scams and phishing, this time of year.
In phishing, the scammer sends a fraudulent message designed to trick the victim into revealing sensitive information.
Sabric CEO Nischal Mewalall explains the need to be cautious, especially for those who often make online transactions: “You know this time of the year, we tend to see different types of scams. There has definitely been an increase in phishing attacks where individuals call you up and pretending to be from your bank. They misrepresent you and try to get information out from you and then they defraud you.”
“The second one is the accommodation, so a lot of people get away. People purport to make accommodation available. We then go ahead, process the transaction and be defrauded later on.”
Avoiding debt
Financial advisers have cautioned consumers to avoid more debt and to spend money wisely during their festive purchases.
According to a study conducted by short term lender, Wonga Online, festive season spending is expected to increase by 20% this year.
It projects that about R252 billion will be injected into the local economy.
In the report below, consumers are urged to spend their money wisely:
