Standard Bank has warned of a new ‘smishing’ scam targeting customers which could put their personal information at risk.
The bank explained that ‘smishing’ is when a fraudster sends you an SMS pretending to be a legitimate organisation, like Standard Bank, and tricks you into clicking on a link to share sensitive information which is used to access your digital banking profile to commit fraud.
Other scammers use similar tactics, such as phoning or emailing, to notify you that fraud has been detected on your credit card or account, Standard Bank said.
Standard Bank said that if you have received this SMS or similar – and you have accidentally clicked on the link and entered your details – you should do the following immediately:
- If you are a South African customer, call the bank immediately on 0800 060 200 so that the digital fraud operations team can de-link the digital ID/profile
- Alternatively, all customers in all countries can visit the Help Centre in the Banking App by selecting the ‘?’ icon on the welcome.
Standard Bank provided the following tips to be aware of while safe while banking:
- Standard Bank said it will never phone, email or SMS you and ask you to share any personal or banking information;
- The bank will never send SMSes to you that contain a link or attachments to download;
- Never share your one-time-pins (OTPs) with anyone, under any circumstances – even if they claim to be from the bank’s fraud department;
- Never share your ATM PIN or accept help from anyone at an ATM;
- If you are suspicious of any fraudulent activity, call the 24/7 fraud line immediately on 0800 020 600.
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