Imposter scam still ongoing

WINDHOEK, Sept. 25 – FNB Namibia again warned its customers to be wary of imposter scams, especially related to eWallet, and cautioned the public to be alert and  question any transactions, financial requests, apparent pay-outs or telephone queries before taking any action.

“As in the past, we ask our customers to phone us if they are uncertain or if something does not seem right. Our numbers are 061 299 2222/ 061 299 7764 and if customers are uncertain they should get the name and number of the supposed FNB person and return the call via the FNB switchboard, to ensure that the person they talked to is a legitimate employee of the bank,” says Ingrid Kahona-Katjiukua of FNB Forensics.

The bank advised that fraud is an ongoing threat, be it via internet, the change of bank detail scam, refund scam or the imposter scam, which is currently trending. Ingrid explains: “The imposter or caller who pretends to be from FNB Namibia has been manipulating customers by asking them to perform an action on their cellphone, which leads to loss of money through e-wallet payments.”

The scam works as follows:

1. The fraudster calls people at random and poses as a FNB employee enquiring about funds that need to be released for various reasons. Dividends, policy pay-outs, or rewards for long standing customers have been used as ruses to receive money.
2. The call, in most cases, is placed to a landline and the customer is then requested to enter a code on their cell phone for release of funds.
3. This code is normally the cell phone banking string; *140*392# or *140*321# followed by what the fraudster then calls a verification code, but is in fact the amount the customer is about to transfer to the fraudster – e.g. 4994 ultimately sending N$4,994.00.
Ingrid: “Such calls are not from FNB Namibia. The bank will never call a customer or a member of the public to release funds for dividends, policy pay-outs or for any form of receiving or sending money. We also do not require any ‘codes’ from a customer to release funds. Keep in mind that we will also never ask you to go through any steps on your cellphone. Remain alert and rather question any financial transaction before taking any action,” she cautioned. – NDN Staffer