FSCA warns the public against scams involving requests for advance - fee or bank transfer payments

Pretoria - The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has today issued a warning to the public to be cautious when receiving requests for advance-fee or bank transfer payments. These are types of false or illegal transactions mostly facilitated by fraudsters.

An advance-fee or bank transfer payment scam refers to an instance where a fraudster promises a recipient that they will receive a significant share of a large sum of funds in return for an upfront payment to release the funds.

The alleged funds could relate to a number of situations and are not limited to unclaimed inheritances or business deals. Fraudsters often request for an advance fee from victims to pay, for example, clearance certificates, insurance costs, courier services or registration fees.

These payment scams are quite common and usually take the form of phishing and spam emails or text messages, which offer access to unrealistic monetary amounts in return for an upfront payment.

Fraudsters, who have no intention of keeping to their end of the deal, continue requesting additional funds when they start receiving payments from unsuspecting victims resulting in victims suffering much frustration and significant financial loss over time.

Members of the public can protect themselves from these types of payment scams by taking the following precautions:

• Do not respond to business opportunities or requests received via email or text message that require any form of upfront payment. In many cases you will be informed that the offer is exclusive for you and must be kept confidential.
• Do not divulge any of your personal information, including identity numbers or bank account information.
• Fraudsters are increasingly using the names of reputable institutions and businesses to try and give their scams legitimacy. If you are in doubt, contact the institution or business directly to verify if the request is legitimate.
• Be wary of persons or entities that do not have direct telephone lines or that are never  available when you call, always promising to call back at a later time.
• Remember that if a financial proposition you are presented with appears too good to be true, it most likely is.
  

Members of the public can check whether an entity or individual is authorised to provide a specific financial product, financial service or financial advice by contacting the FSCA.