While South Africa’s Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (RICA) was intended to help authorities track down people linked to criminal activity, the reality is very different on the ground. It might not be a new scam, but Durban North SAPS has warned residents not to divulge personal details if they receive an SMS from RICA promotions stating they’ve won something.
According to Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the station, thousands of these SMSs are sent out on a daily basis and is intended to extract personal information out of the sometimes unsuspecting victim.
“These scammers, work around its constraints and even use international numbers to launch their schemes. Any message stating you have won the lottery or competition that you didn’t enter should be an indication of a scam. Many will claim to be from legitimate companies or entities, such as SARS, your bank or service provider. I urge residents not to fall victim to these kind of scams,” he said.
Deokaran added that any SMS stating to claim your prize, you needed to pay an advance-fee was also a scam. “The golden rule is still if it seems too good to be true, then it is probably too good to be true,” he said.
