Don’t be conned by prowling fraudsters

THE sad truth is that the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of society, particularly the elderly and unemployed, are the ones who more often than not fall victim to the dubious tactics of opportunistic fraudsters.

But it is a misnomer to assume that these sophisticated criminals are not focusing their attention on the rest of the population as well.

Gauging from the string of articles published in this publication since the beginning of the year, Zululanders across the board have been conned out of hundreds of thousands of rands through banking-related and SMS fraud, cybercrime, job scams and social network schemes.

And while the public is constantly urged to beware of such unscrupulous acts, an increasing number of victims are losing assets and money they have worked hard to accumulate.

The latest modus operandi involves ‘middlemen’ fronting as job recruiters at the municipality and a shopping centre in Richards Bay.

They scour vacancies and in exchange for cash promise to guarantee employment for job seekers.

No respectable company would use such a random method of recruiting, so if one is requested to part with cash to secure a job, this should raise a red flag immediately.

Cybercrime is also spiralling out of control with Internet users losing substantial amounts of money daily.

It involves sophisticated social engineering techniques used to trick people into making upfront payments for products and services, prize and lottery winnings, or various other opportunities which are never procured.

Those looking for love online are not exempt from the cash trap as scammers play on emotional triggers to get one to provide money, gifts or personal details. They often pretend to be travelling or working abroad so that their new found partner would send them money willingly.

A 55-year-old Richards Bay woman earlier this year lost R150 000 to a similar online dating scam.

In all instances, common denominators remain – do not dish out personal or banking details to people online and under no circumstances should one part with cash in the hope of gaining employment.