Let’s Talk Finances – by Hans Myburgh, a registered financial advisor and Northmead resident.

Criminals have evolved, adapting to technology to target unsuspecting victims.

Instead of roaming the streets, they now invade your privacy, infiltrating your inbox, banking apps and even WhatsApp.

“Cybercrime is on the rise globally, and ordinary people are losing millions every month, not because they are foolish, but because scams have become slick, believable and deeply personal,” said Hans.

“It is important to talk about the threats doing the rounds to better protect ourselves, our families and our finances.”

• WhatsApp, email and SMS have become criminals’ front door.
Many cybercrime victims claim they received messages allegedly from their banking institutions, with the subject reading: ‘Dear customer, your account has been flagged. Please verify your details here’, followed by a link.

“At first look, everything seems legit, the logo is perfect, and the link takes you to a page that looks exactly like your bank’s website. Here, you enter your banking login details and just like that, criminals have full access to your hard-earned money,” he said.

“These are referred to as phishing scams.”

• Inside the world of international criminal call centres.
Not all scams originate within SA’s borders. It has been found that many sophisticated professional scam call centres operate from Asian countries, such as India.

“These are highly organised operations where dozens of people work from fully operational call centres pretending to be from Microsoft, banking institutions and the South African Revenue Services,” he said.

“Their targets are usually older people, claiming they have detected a security breach on their computers and that remote access is needed to take restorative actions.

“Upon being granted access, criminals can lock users out of their devices, demanding a ‘ransom’ or login details for banking apps.”

Hans explains that these criminal syndicates use SA numbers to make the scam more believable. The callers are full-time syndicate employees trained to manipulate emotions through fear, urgency and trust.

“Sadly, these scammers never see the faces of the people they target, nor do they realise the impact their actions have on their lives,” said Hans.

“If a stranger calls you about a problem you did not report, hang up and call the company directly, using the officially registered number.”

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Red flags to look for are terms like ‘guaranteed returns’ or ‘no risk’ when regarding investments.

“Registered financial advisors will always explain that investments come with risk, volatility and regulation. If someone is pressuring you to ‘act fast’ or ‘sign now’, rather step away,” he said.

Common scams to watch for:
• Fake banking alerts via SMS or email;

• WhatsApp messages from cloned numbers pretending to be a member of your family, friends or business contacts;

• Investment scams promising guaranteed returns, especially offers for cryptocurrency;

• Online marketplace cons where you make a payment for goods that you do not receive;

• Job offers asking you to pay an “admin fee”.

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Tips to protect yourself and your finances:
• Never click on links in unsolicited messages. Instead, log on directly to your banking app or website;

• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all apps with access to your personal information;

• Be suspicious of urgency. Scammers often use terms like ‘urgent action required’ to trigger panic and fast clicking;

• Never share OTPs (one-time pins). No bank or legitimate company will ever request your OTP;

• Always verify. If you suspect anything suspicious, call your bank, SARS or the sender using the number on an official website;

• Educate your family. The elderly and teenagers are often at more risk. Talk about these threats.

“In the digital world, your inbox is your new front door. You would not give a stranger your house keys, so why would you allow them access to your personal information?” said Hans.

“Cybercrime is real, through awareness and enlisting precautionary measures, you can protect yourself and your hard-earned money.

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