GARDEN ROUTE | HESSEQUA NEWS - Sanlam has warned the public about a number of scams taking place currently.
The Planet49 "Covid-19 relief promotion scheme" supposedly supported local grocery chains, but actually harvested participants' personal information to sell to third parties.
There is also the WhatsApp gifting scam, which promised members great returns on initial investments of R200.
And, the recent Bitcoin scam leaked the personal information of about 250 000 individuals from 20 countries.
A Mossel Bay resident who is a client of Sanlam says she almost fell for a scam in which "Sanlam" offered loans. "I received an email from 'Sanlam' saying I could apply for a personal loan. I applied for the loan and filled in forms, and also sent copies of my ID, salary slips and bank statements."
She says after her supposed loan was approved, she received an email from "Sanlam", in which it asked a fee of R1 999 to be paid into the bank account it provided. "I phoned Sanlam and they confirmed it was not a Sanlam product. Luckily I saw that sentence, but the text was small and I am sure the average person would not have seen that, or would have paid the R1 999 in order to get the 'loan'."
Too good to be true
Megan Govender, head of forensic services at Sanlam, says that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Govender says once your personal information is out there, it takes on a journey of its own. "As soon as criminals have your ID number, they're in a position to purchase your entire profile from the dark web, including your full name, credit record, where you live, the amount outstanding on your bond, your phone number and more."
Govender says they can use that informa-tion in myriad ways, including impersonating you to your insurer or investment company to retrieve your funds and benefits.
"They can also do a SIM swop on your cell number and change your passwords to gain entry to your internet banking, set up a retail or credit card account in your name, access credit, establish a new cell contract, and more."
She urged South Africans to be hyper aware and to educate themselves on the latest, sophisticated criminal techniques.
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