Ground-breaking platform to combat fraud coming in June

A ground-breaking platform to combat fraud is coming in June, a move that will be applauded in a country that has become the darling of fraudsters, with a 600% increase in incidents reported in 2022 compared to 2018, according to the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service.

The SAFPS has rolled out several important communication campaigns over the years to educate South Africans about the various frauds and scams they should beware of, but the challenge is that reporting a scam is a reactive response once someone has already become a victim. Nazia Karrim, head of product development at the SAFPS, says this is why the SAFPS must establish a proactive approach to combatting fraud and scams.

“In response to the growing need for a proactive approach to fraud prevention, the SAFPS is developing a product called Yima. Once launched, the product’s website will be a one-stop-shop for South Africans to report scams, secure their identity and scan any website for vulnerabilities related to scams.”

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Consumers education part of platform

Karrim says consumers will also be able to educate themselves on identifying a scam on Yirma and the tools offered will enable consumers to surf the net more confidently and go about their daily lives aware and informed. These are just some exciting elements South Africans can access through the site,” says Karrim.

The main element of the website will be the ability to report a scam incident or any suspicious activity to the SAFPS. Suspicious activity includes a fake or suspicious-looking online shopping website or portal and instances where the user has received phoney banking information.

These reports will then be collated and shared with law enforcement for investigation. Users will also get a scams hotline where they can report a fraud incident directly to their banks, retailers or insurance companies using a single number that is easy to remember, avoiding internet searches of where to report it.

In addition, Yima users will have access to the consumer products and services the SAFPS offers.

“The most unique element of Yima is the ability to provide the tools that will enable consumers to be proactive when preventing scams and offer the services to assist them when they become a victim of a scam. This will make a significant difference in the war on scams, as empowering the consumer is key to prevention.”

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Scams do not only happen online

Although you would think that scams only happen online, Karrim warns this is a misconception. She uses the example of a consumer who almost became a victim of a scam when she returned to South Africa from a holiday in Mauritius.

The SIM card in her cell phone malfunctioned, leaving her stressed as an important business tool she depended on was not working. She quickly switched off her smartphone and restarted it, hoping it was a freak occurrence.

A few minutes later, she received a call from an individual who claimed to be from her service provider. He said he noticed that her SIM card malfunctioned and that he could assist her to fix it. All she needed to do was give him the one-time pin (OTP) sent to her phone.

However, the consumer was aware of the various scams used to target individuals and she questioned the so-called representative about why he needed the OTP. The ‘representative’ then became angry, raising his voice and threatening to disconnect her service immediately if she did not comply with his request.

Fortunately, the consumer was aware of the potential scam risks and told the so-called representative that she would visit the nearest branch of her service provider to resolve the issue in person. She then disconnected the call.” 

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Changing fraud reporting

“Many South Africans would have panicked and given in to the scammer’s demands. This exchange is just one of the many examples of how Yima will make a significant difference to educate the consumer about the tactics scammers use to pressure them to comply with their demands. In the future, consumers will be able to report this kind of incident on Yima and have direct access to their service providers and banks to alert them of the issue via the scam hotline,” Karrim says.

Karrim says Yima will also have a newsroom portal with reports and case studies about these scams to warn consumers about them. Victims can also report their incidents and request assistance on this platform.

Karrim says Yima is unique because it empowers the consumer by offering a method to access products that will help secure their identity, report a scam incident and get a layer of protection they never had before, free of charge.

The SAFPS engaged with local and international industry stakeholders to build a powerful product that it plans to launch in June after significant Beta testing.