Scammers are at it again!  [Letter to the editor]

Northam – I received an interesting call from a bank on Monday 22 November. At first, I didn’t think much about it as I have an account with them. 

The man on the line said that they’ve been looking into my account and that their records show that a company is deducting money from my account without my authorisation. According to him, because I have a contract with a well-known electronics company, they will assist me in having the amount reversed. 

Being just before month end, I was thrilled to find out that the amount of R1,750 would be paid back into my account. 

I was then informed that they will need my ID number, account number and card expiry date. Once I gave him this information, he told me to press *35*0000*16#. 

Luckily, I had network problems, so the process failed. But he said that I should check my phone for an SMS that will confirm I will receive the reversed amount in the next 2 to 48 hours. He hung up and I didn’t receive any foul play until l received an SMS notifying me about a failed online purchase due to insufficient funds in my account. 

My savings are paid into another account and because it was just before payday, this account was empty. If they tried this trick two days later, they would have succeeded in stealing all my hard-earned money. I immediately stopped my card.

December is almost here, and scammers are doing whatever they can to score from what you have saved for the year. I want to urge the community to please be careful and not share any information over the phone.

Almost Scammed

By dialling *35*0000*16# some service providers block all incoming SMSs. This will prevent the victim from receiving the payment notification and then blocking the card before the scammers empty out the account.