THERE has been an alarming increase in bank card fraud, with women being the most affected.
In its latest report, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) said there has been an 18% increase in combined gross card fraud losses on South African issued cards, amounting to more than R800-million, with credit card fraud increasing by 18,4% and debit card fraud by 17,5%.
‘We are concerned about some of the increases which clearly reflect that criminals will take every opportunity to get their hands on bank customers’ money,’ said chief executive of SABRIC, Kalyani Pillay.
According to a report by Statistics South Africa last year, 53,8% of the country’s fraud victims were women.
Only 24,6% of women who fell victim to such fraud reported it to the police.
‘What is sad to note is that the reasons for not reporting crime to the police is that the victims feel that the police will not do anything or cannot do anything once a crime is reported.
‘This needs to change. We need to encourage a culture of action when it comes to law enforcement,’ said Executive Director of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), Manie van Schalkwyk.
He called for urgent intervention to protect women against all types of fraud.
‘We cannot continue to let the most vulnerable in our society become repeat victims of financial crimes. Those who have lost their IDs or who feel that they are falling victim to fraud related crime, need to make contact with the SAFPS,’ said Van Schalkwyk
He said there has also been a sharp increase in vishing incidents.
This involves criminals calling bank customers, leading them to believe that they are speaking to the bank or a legitimate service provider, and using social engineering tactics to manipulate them into disclosing their confidential bank card details, as well as other personal information.
‘A bank will never call you to ask for this information. If you receive such a call, put the phone down immediately,’ he said.
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