White collar crime also hurts citizens

SOCIETY rightly condemns violent crime and is especially revolted when victims such as children and the elderly are targeted by cruel criminals.

Apart from acts that lead to death, physical wounds and injuries literally leave lifetime scars – not to mention the tremendous emotional pain and trauma for victims and their loved ones.

But although the physical injury is absent, white collar crime also presents its own set of unsavoury repercussions.

The most obvious one is the fraud itself and the loss of money or property.

In many instances, people who have been fleeced out of cash have borrowed money, utilised family funds or taken loans to pay for the supposed benefit they would receive.

The hard 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 also focusing their attention on the rest of the population, especially those greedy to make a quick buck.

Gauging from the string of articles published in this media publication from 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, cyber crime, 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 so easily losing assets and money they have worked so hard to accumulate.

The latest incident saw an Ulundi woman waving goodbye to a weighty wad of money after falling prey to the ancestral promises of a bogus traditional healer.

Unscrupulous con artists are not only preying on faith believers but also those desperate for employment.

They troll the internet, scour vacancies and in exchange for cash, promise 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.

Cloning of company or bank letterheads often features in these scams.

Cyber crime 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 up front payments for products and services, prize and lottery winnings, or various other opportunities which are never procured.

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 ,more money or an unseen product such as a vehicle.