As November ushers in the start of the holiday shopping and spending season, it also unfortunately signals an increase in cybercrimes. As a result, it is critical for shoppers to be extra vigilant to avoid falling victim to fraudsters.
Chris Boxall, FNB’s head of card transact, industry and fraud detection, says: “Shopping sprees are always characterised by a rise in attempts to defraud unsuspecting consumers through malicious tricks and scams. Having seen an increase in phishing and smishing attempts aimed at loading debit and credit cards onto criminals’ digital wallets, it remains more important to be on high alert when shopping online with your digital wallets.
“The number of South Africans who choose the convenience of online shopping to avoid queues has increased significantly over the years, and with cybercriminals becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attempts, it is crucial to ensure that safety remains top of mind when shopping,” he says.
FNB has enabled its customers to load their Virtual Cards for contactless transactions on all enabled digital wallets, including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, and Garmin Pay. Consequently, customers are encouraged to load their existing virtual cards or create new ones to use with the Google Wallet app, which can be downloaded from the Play Store. This gives them more options for contactless and digital payments.
“FNB further encourages its customers to use its Virtual Cards for safer online payments and to approve online purchases through the FNB App. The Card Verification Value (CVV) security number on FNB Virtual Cards changes every hour, providing an extra layer of protection for customers. FNB also covers online purchases made using FNB and RMB Private Bank Virtual Cards with complimentary Purchase Protect insurance. It covers customers’ purchases for 30 days post-purchase, up to R15 000 and, in case of an accident, the insurance will cover repairs or the item’s purchase price.
The bank has also introduced Money Protect, a free insurance cover for certain card fraud-related losses up to a predetermined amount. The bank will assist affected customers with claims through the Money Protect insurance solution to alleviate the impact of any potential financial losses from such incidents,” adds Boxall.
The most important piece of advice that Boxall gives is to Immediately report suspected fraud. When transacting, consumers should always exercise caution to protect themselves from possible fraud. This can help prevent financial losses and the compromise of one’s financial and personal information.
“Protecting yourself is not simply limited to your bank card, but also includes practicing safe banking behaviour all round, online, at ATMS, and on your devices. To help prevent fraud, FNB has invested resources to inform, educate and support customers on how to bank safely without falling victim, but general banking safety is a two-way street that requires consumers to exercise caution to avoid falling victim to fraudulent activities,” concludes Boxall.
Boxall shares safety tips to help you protect your money against fraudsters lurking online this season:
- Don’t panic: Fraudsters rely on people acting hastily, due to a sense of panic. Their tactics include threats that your accounts will be blocked or that fraud has been identified and must be stopped immediately. Whatever the scenario, keep in mind that such things will never compel you to give away OTPs, PINs, or passwords. It is safer to end such communication and contact your bank immediately.
- Do not click on email or SMS links: Proceed with caution when opening emails from unknown or suspicious sources. Credible financial institutions will never ask you to click on links. Doing so or downloading attachments from these kinds of messages should be avoided as they may include harmful malware or redirect you to fake websites.
- Pay careful attention to the wording of OTP requests. The wording for an online transaction OTP request is different to that of a digital wallet OTP request – don’t rush or make assumptions about communications you might receive. An authentic OTP SMS for online transactions with FNB will always inform the customer that they are about to make an online purchase of a stipulated amount; include the last four digits of the card; followed by the Confirmation OTP number. On the other hand, an authentic digital wallet OTP notification from FNB will always warn the customer that they are attempting to link a specific card (indicating the last four digits of the card) to a specific wallet, and it will always inform the customer to call 0870 30 30 30 or log into the FNB app to complete or cancel the action.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA wherever possible, since it adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second verification step, which is often transmitted to your mobile device or an authenticator app, such as the banking app for FNB customers.
- Take note of the card and digital safety measures recommended by your financial institution: There is a lot of misleading information about how people may protect themselves from fraud, but it is always preferable to follow your financial institution’s recommendations on how to secure your money.
- Keep software and devices up to date: Update your operating system, web browsers, and antivirus software on a regular basis to guard against vulnerabilities. To ensure that you get the most recent security fixes, enable automatic updates whenever possible.
- Verify contact details: If you are suspicious of a message or request, contact your bank using details directly from their website so that you are not redirected to the fraudster’s ‘help line’.
- Use safer and more convenient ways to pay: To limit the risk of fraud when shopping online, choose the safest payment methods. Avoid using Instant EFT payments that require you to expose sensitive information to third-party providers to complete a payment.