New scam warning after Liberty Life cyber attack

The banking industry has warned customers to be extra cautious amid concerns of several scams circulating across the country.

This in the wake of financial services provider Liberty Life being hacked and data stolen last week.

South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) chief executive Kalyani Pillay warned people to be on the lookout for several types of scams, such as phishing, vishing and SMishing.

Pillay said that phishing was done via e-mails where users click on a link in the email which directs them to a fake website.

“The spoofed website will look almost exactly like that of a legitimate or well-known financial institution.”

Pillay said another scam, known as vishing, is when fraudsters phone their victims posing as bank officials or service providers.

Questions are asked to manipulate the person into disclosing confidential information, while at the same time leading them to believe they are speaking to the bank or service provider.

“This information is then used to defraud the victim.”

Another scam is SMishing, commonly known as SMS phishing, where users are tricked into downloading malware onto their mobile devices which is then used to fraudulently obtain sensitive information by sending text messages asking users to call a number or click on a link.

“Phishing, vishing and SMishing are all methods of deceitfully obtaining personal information such as passwords, ID numbers and bank card details by tricking clients into believing that they are from trusted sources, such as banks or legitimate companies.”

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said while a variety of scams were surfacing across the country, the Bay remained relatively unaffected.

Naidu said police had received the “occasional report” but nothing significant enough to deem the scams problematic in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Naidu said SMishing, phishing and online deposit scams linked to fake websites were the main banking scams under investigation in the Bay.

She was unable to provide figures on the number of cases under investigation.

Phishing, vishing and SMishing are all used to deceitfully obtain information