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Tom Muleya-Fraud Insight
Cybercrime fraudsters, especially ard cloners are viciously attacking pensioners and wiping out their pension benefits.
The safety of pensioners has been seriously compromised by increasing digital technology.
Many people who intend to retire are gripped with fear as they are not sure about the safety of their pension benefits. Cases involving card cloning of pension benefits that occur soon after the pension funds are deposited in pensioner’s bank account are on the increase.
The most casualties in this type of fraud are retiring civil servants.
Pension benefits provide a safety net for long years of work. A pension benefit is a lifetime investment, but merciless scammers are destroying the very livelihoods of former employees.
To lose all the pension benefits to criminals is painful.
More security measures are, therefore, needed to be put in place to help those who decide to rest from active work or employment.
In one of my previous work on pension fraud, it was noted that from a global perspective, ‘Crowe’s 2019 Pensions Risk Management Report’ indicated an estimated cost of fraud to the United Kingdom Pensions sector to be above ‘6 billion pounds’ per year.
From the African perspective, South Africa is said to be losing billions of rand in pension fraud per year. Zimbabwe is losing millions of dollars every year in estimated costs of pension fraud.
Some threats to pension benefits are identity fraud, internal fraud, identity theft, impersonation, and card cloning.
Currently heavy losses of pension benefits are due to card cloning scams.
Scammers, who perhaps will be armed with information on their victim, follow the unsuspecting victim while shopping and clone their credit or debit cards by harvesting personal information either through secret cameras, shoulder surfing, and connivance with rogue shop till operators.
At times, card cloners harvest credit/debit card information when victims negligently disclose their personal details.
I have personally witnessed some people due to pressure to attend to something else shout their Pin to the person with a swipe machine in full hearing of other people in cue.
In order to prevent pension fraud due to cyber card cloning, pensioners should consider the following measures;
Provide water-tight security around their bank details. Disclosure of PIN and giving of credit/debit cards to third parties should be avoided at all cost.
Once lump sum benefits have been deposited in the account, pensioners should consider opening another account where they can transfer some of their money, while they plan on how to invest it. It is a known fact that putting eggs in one basket is risky.
Exercise caution when they go shopping. Card cloning scammers are deploying themselves in various places where swipe services are offered to attack their victims.
·Pensioners who are waiting for payment of lamp sum benefits should seek information from the police so that they arm themselves with latest trends on pension fraud.
Get empowered by Fraud Insight and be part of a solution to pension fraud. Stay tuned for other upcoming issue on cyber related fraud and prevention tips.
For your feedback,WhatsApp line: 0772 764 043, or e-mail:[email protected]. Tom Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the Criminal Investigations Department. Harare. He is also a member of the National Cyber Security Taskforce, Zimbabwe.
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