South Africans Are Being Urged to Watch Out for Black Friday Scams While Shopping Online
- With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, South African shoppers are being encouraged to be vigilant when shopping online
- The Ombudsman for Banking Services says criminals have now come up with new ways to scam consumers
- Some South Africans say they are opting out of participating in Black Friday because they believe the discounts are not worth it
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!
JOHANNESBURG - As South Africans are anticipating to dive into the biggest discount events of the year, the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) says South Africans need to be more vigilant when shopping Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
The OBS says that they will be heightened risk on 26 and 29 November this year, the dates assigned for Black Friday and Cyber Monday respectively.
Source: Getty Images
In a media statement sent to Briefly News, the Ombudsman Reana Steyn says in as much South Africans are excited about discounts, shoppers should check their bank statements because scams are expected to increase during this time.
"The OBS urges shoppers to be on the lookout for suspicious activities and/or transactions on their accounts as there is an expectation of higher volumes of phishing, vishing and ATM scams," says Steyn.
Enjoy reading our stories? Download the BRIEFLY NEWS app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!
Steyn explains that checking bank statements will help individuals identify unfamiliar transactions and have them quickly reported to their banks.
New online shopping scam has been identified
The OBS says criminals have targeted online shoppers by tricking them pay in advance for goods and services they will never receive.
This scam is usually carried out on online marketplaces, social media platforms and unsecure online shopping websites. Steyn goes on to say that shoppers should take their time in verifying merchants before parting with their hard earned cash.
Saffas say they are not participating in Black Friday
Briefly News posted a poll question on Facebook and asked our readers if they would be buying anything during Black Friday.
There overwhelming number of responses varied but most people said they would not be buying anything.
Here are some responses:
Patience Ntombifuthi Fuku said:
"How I wish but I'm broke and unemployed."
Mojalefa Theophylus Tshenye said:
"A lot of booze. I wanna be safe for when Ramabillion decides he wanna close the country, and he's gonna do that because of the bitterness of losing all the metros♂️"
Mimi Kay said:
"Normal: Roll-on R25. Black Friday: 2 Roll-on for R49,99. So admin I think I'm fine nge black Friday"
Babalwa Melissa Baleni said:
"Nothing we realized that the prices are 300,00 to 299,99 on black Friday "
Phoebe Ramashilo said:
"Put some items in my online cart,waiting to see if they go down significantly..."
Drieka Blignault said:
"Rip off Friday."
“Black Friday is a scam”: PnP under fire after advertising ‘discount’ TV
Briefly News previously reported that pictures of a seriously sketchy TV set advertised in Pick n Pay have South Africans upset. According to pictures posted online, it seems a discount on the tech device had been falsely advertised by the retailer.
Heading online, Twitter user @NwaHlungwane shared the evidence that had peeps raising the alarm bells.
"This TV was never R5499. @PicknPay practice embarrassment, please," she captioned the post.
Source: Briefly News
