Page 16 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 3 2025

ESTATE MATTERS
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HOME FRONT
HOME FRONT

SCAMMED, SPOOFED

AND SWEET-TALKED

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DIGITAL

FRAUD IN SOUTH AFRICA

B Y NIC OLA KILL OPS

ere’s the thing: scammers are no ROMANCE SCAMS AND or bad luck.
E
longer the desperate-sounding 1 MOTIONAL CATFISHING • You’re asked to keep the relationship
strangers of a decade ago. These It starts with a friend request. Or a message private.
Hdays, they’re organised, tech- on a dating app. They’re polite. Interesting.
savvy, patient and frighteningly convincing. Maybe a widower, a soldier, an expat working PROTECT YOURSELF:
They know what apps you’re on. They know on a remote oil rig. You chat. They open up. • Never send money to someone you’ve
how your bank messages look. And they You start checking your phone a bit more. never met.
know how to make you second-guess your You feel seen. • Do a reverse image search of their
own instincts. photos.
Then one day, there’s a problem. They’ve • Talk to a friend — someone outside the
That’s why it’s often well-educated, been mugged. Their daughter’s in hospital. situation often sees the red flags more
upper-income people who fall for scams — They want to visit, but their bank card’s been clearly.
especially older adults who weren’t raised blocked. Could you just help — just this once?
with this kind of digital trickery. REAL EXAMPLE:
SPOT THE SCAM: A Johannesburg woman lost over R600,000
So let’s get ahead of it. Below are the most • They move fast — lots of affection early to a man who claimed to be a doctor
common scams South Africans are falling on. with Médecins Sans Frontières. He had
for right now — plus how to spot the warning • They have excuses for not video calling or documents, photos, even fake colleagues
signs *before* you lose your money, your meeting in person. backing him up. Every cent was borrowed.
data, or your peace of mind. • Their stories often involve travel, tragedy, He vanished.

14 DPL issue 3 2025