WARNING FROM FIC

Category Useful Info

FIC WARNS ON SCAM NOTICES

Monday, 9 July 2012: It has been brought to the attention of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) that scam notices bearing the Government coat of arms, the logo of South Africa’s Parliament and the FIC’s name are being used in attempts to defraud the public through bogus e-mails. Please do not respond to such notices.  The latest scam e-mail mentions that the senders of the letter have been authorised by the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, and Secretary-General of the International Monetary Fund to send a large amount of money due to the e-mail recipient.  In an attempt to add veracity to the scam letter, the e-mail recipient is given a payment reference number, automatic teller machine Visa card release code, pin number and secret telex code. In exchange for this, the recipient is asked to provide their personal details including their address and mobile number. The scammers also warn the recipient to respond urgently so as to avoid the money being paid to an incorrect beneficiary. Citizens are warned not to respond to this and similar e-mails, SMSs or letters and to report these to their nearest police station. Some common pointers for recognising scams, whether they are via e-mail, SMS or letter, include:
financial intelligence centre

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

1.The e-mail requestor asks for bank account information, credit card numbers, driver’s licence number, passport number, information about members of your family, and other personal information
2.The sender advises that you have won a prize – even though you are not aware of having entered any competition run by the prize promoters
3.The e-mail may be personally addressed to you but it has been posted using bulk mail sending facilities to many others locally and internationally
4.Check the wording of letter; you may notice spelling errors and exaggerations, which should alert you to the offer being too good to be true
5.Logos of the organisations mentioned in the letter (such as the prize-givers) may not seem correct or professionally drafted
6.The names of persons used as senders of the e-mails are common.