NEWS: Beware of fraudulant debit orders at Christmastime

With Christmas just around the corner fraudsters are getting ready to launch their annual attack on unsuspecting consumers with fraudulent debit orders.

Working hand-in-hand with crooked banking employees who supply the banking details of targeted consumers, criminal syndicates create bogus debit orders which they then submit to payment systems companies who are unwitting accomplices in the scheme.

Fred Steffers, managing director of PS&S, one of the largest payment systems companies, said it was a continuous game of cat and mouse with criminals who sought to defraud consumers by creating fake debit orders without the knowledge of consumers.

"Usually the first indication we get that fraud has been committed is when consumers question debit orders that had suddenly appeared on their bank statements.

Steffers said payment systems companies collaborated with each other when cartels are uncovered.

"We meet on a regular basis to compare notes and to share information on fraudulent activities."

He said Christmas was an especially dangerous period because this was the height of the shopping season and consumers were not always as observant as they should be in checking their bank statements.

"My best advice to the public would be to check bank statements as often as possible. For account holders who use internet banking it is a simple matter of logging in on a daily basis to check if there are any suspicious transactions.

"For consumers who do not have on-line banking facilities the situation is more complicated but they should go to their nearest branch and ask for a bank statement at least once a month."

Steffers said that while the problem was not widespread, it was of great concern to companies like PS&S who were responsible for a large percentage of debit order transactions.

"It is clear to us (payment systems companies) that if we don't remain vigilant the problem is going to grow into a monster with many heads sprouting up all over the country."

He said payment systems companies processed all debit orders submitted to them in good faith.

"A recent investigation of bulk debit order requests processed by us over the past three months indicates that more than 95% of all transactions seem legitimate. The remaining percentage that is not, is resulting in consumers being defrauded of substantial amounts of money."

Steffers said payment systems companies were currently in talks with the country's largest credit bureau to find a solution to the problem.

"One possibility is that we will submit a yet-to-be-determined percentage of all debit order request submitted to us to the credit bureau who will verify that the consumers names and ID numbers match."

Steffers said the debit order industry played a significant role in smoothing financial transactions making it easy for consumers to buy goods and services by telephone.

It was also a significant player in the overall economy contributing billions of rand to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country, he said.

"We are working hard to weed out the rotten apples who try and take short cuts and basically operate as conmen using fraudulent tactics to obtain the banking details of unsuspecting consumers and then getting us to debit them believing the transaction had been done in legitimately."

For more information, please contact Fred Steffers on his cell at 083 268 6779 or e-mail him fred@psas.co.za Browse www.smartcollect.co.za <www.smartcollect.co.za>

-SAPA


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