By Mike McDougall, CEO of the Actuarial Society of South Africa Faced with empty wallets and rising costs, thousands of South Africans are placing their faith in ‘get rich quick’ schemes that lure desperate consumers with promises of unrealistic...
Loan scams continue
Tebogo writes: I applied for a R200 000 loan from a company called Blue Financial Services. They told me the loan was approved and I had to pay a R200 administration fee, which I did. Then they sent me a lawyers letter requiring an amount of R3 750...
How to avoid buying into hype
When looking at investment opportunities, it isn't always that easy to separate out the sizzle from the steak. What do Bernie Madoff, Barry Tannenbaum and Sharemax have in common? They started as credible organisations run by known people – people...
Hundreds of South Africans fall victim to loan scam
It was only when Patricia received a call from Wonga’s head of communications that she realised she had been the unwitting victim of a phising scam that has so far conned over 200 people into parting with their money. Two weeks ago Patricia...
It’s annual tax phishing season
With tax filing season upon us, the annual tax-related cyber-fraud feeding frenzy has begun, warns Jonas Thulin, Security Consultant at Fortinet. "The Receiver of Revenue, financial institutions and security firms have been issuing the same...
Personal loans: beware of scams
As the cost of living continues to rise, you may be tempted to take out a personal loan. Maybe you want to renovate your home or make some changes before the chill of winter sets in. Whatever your reason, make sure that you know what you are...
How a boiler room scam works
If an overseas broker calls you out of the blue to sell you shares, you don’t need to ask - it is a scam. Two months ago Ross received a call from a trader supposedly working for a Shanghai-based stockbroking firm. Ross was told that he had been...
Investment scam: If it seems too good to be true, it usually is
A reader alerts us to a new scam “I was making some research on investments and come across the company called Zantech Trading. They say if I invest from R10 000 once off I will get 25% dividend of the capital back for 12 months. In other words I...
How do you know it is a ponzi scheme?
PODCAST The recent Western Cape Relative Value Arbitrage Fund (RAVF) scandal that led to suicide shooting of Julian Williams by his associate, Herman Pretorius, is estimated to have lost investors around R1.8 billion. While investors, and financial...
Tow-truck scams to watch out for
Seeing tow trucks parked at my local intersection recently reminded me of a scam whereby tow-truck drivers dupe unsuspecting accident victims into allowing them to tow the victims' vehicles. The scam involves the driver telling you he will call...
