Fraudsters bypass caller ID: ‘You can’t afford to let your guard down’ – Wendy Knowler
Fraudsters have found a way to bypass Truecaller’s spam protection.
Man Having a Phone Call In-front of a Laptop / Pexels: Andrea Piacquadio
Pippa Hudson speaks with Consumer Journalist Wendy Knowler.
Listen below.
The app Truecaller is often used to screen out spam and scam phone calls, as it reveals who is calling before you pick up.
However, some scammers have found a way around their protections.
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One consumer is out of R25 000 because of a scam from someone pretending to be Vodacom.
On Truecaller the caller ID showed up as 'Vodacom Rewards Center', and she assumed this was legitimate as she is a longtime customer.
The scammers were able to do this by buying a SIM card and registering it in the name of the company they wanted to pose as.
“You cannot afford to let your guard down for even a second.”
- Wendy Knowler, Consumer journalist
The caller said Vodacom was celebrating its 30th birthday and was running a campaign where their long-standing customers could receive prizes.
She was told she had to make certain payments to get her prizes, which is the hallmark of an ‘advance fee’ scam.
She was sceptical at first but was promised a Hisense mobile phone, a grocery voucher of R5000 and a cash prize of R30,000.
Vodacom says they are aware of what is happening and say scammers often mimic genuine loyalty programmes and campaigns to lure customers in.
They also warn that it is especially common during Black Friday and the festive season.
“This is the most high-risk time for consumers.”
- Wendy Knowler, Consumer journalist
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.