In challenging economic times such as we find ourselves in as a result of rising costs of living, load shedding, high unemployment, and escalating interest rates, it’s inevitable that an increasing number of South Africans are becoming financially desperate and, as a result, more susceptible to investment scams. Desperate to get out of debt and escape their current financial dilemmas, the idea of making large amounts of money in a short period of time is difficult for many to resist.
Despite constant warnings by the media, financial institutions and regulatory bodies, we often find it incredulous that the unsuspecting fall victim to such scams – and yet the reality is that it can happen to anyone. As technology advances, so too do the techniques used by fraudsters to trap their victims and, as such, keeping abreast of the various types of frauds and scams is essential.
The internet, social media platforms and instant messaging apps make it easy for con artists to appear credible and reach a wider audience through nefarious means. With a broad array of scam types, identifying them for what they are is often not as easy as one would think – and sophisticated fraudsters can go to great lengths to make the scam look legitimate even to the trained eye.
While pyramid and Ponzi schemes are, generally speaking, more easily identifiable, there is a never-ending stream of new scams to be on the lookout for, including fraud involving identify theft, phishing, spoof emailing,…
