Lady Offers Locals Welcome December Money Tips Online, SA Thankful: 'Danko'

• A local woman took it upon herself to head online to share some useful money safety advice
• Ahead of the expected December rush, @KBmanyobe warned locals to handle their money with care
• Aware of the spike in money-related crimes in the country, many online users seemed to be in agreement

A capeless local safety tips heroine is offering South Africans some sound money handling advice on social media ahead of the popular December rush.

It's a well-known fact that the festive season sees a surge in financial crimes, whether online or otherwise, in South Africa. Among the host of popular resorts used by criminals to swindle cash from unsuspecting victims are fraud and card scamming.

Fully aware of the plight faced by locals during this period of merriment, where amid all the hustle and bustle, people often drop their guard, a woman on social media, @KBmanyobe, has taken it upon herself to sensitize others, including those who may already be money safety-savvy.

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The tweet read:

"It's December. AVOID USING YOUR CARD AT AN ATM. Transfer the money to yourself then use [the] cardless option to withdraw your cash. Danko."

The sensible tweet immediately appealed to the throngs of other social networking users who interacted with it, soon attracting more than 7 200 likes, 2 300 retweets and a massive flood of comments.

Saffas from all walks of life concurred with the message by relaying their own money safety tips, with others sharing first-hand experiences of being conned out of money by lowly and opportunistic criminals.

Netizens exchange money safety advice

Briefly News camped in the comments and brings readers the various "tips you can use" below.

@QueenEphanie wrote:

"I set my daily limits to zero but still got scammed."

@iam_matha said:

"Problem is I'd need my banking app for that...and with the way criminals are these days it's safe to either hide or delete your banking app cause they will force u to unlock it and withdraw everything."

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@sifisoxaba1 added:

"Switch off the option for ATM withdrawals if you are using standard bank app,switch off the swiping option also if you won't be doing any shopping for the day.. these you can switch on and off at your own will, at any time."

Safety tips for businesses, homeowners and holidaymakers

At the butt end of 2020, facilities management and security services provider Servest warned of the then-anticipated spike in household break-ins.

Briefly News reported that according to a Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2019/20 report by Statistics SA, housebreakings are the number one crime in South Africa.

There were an estimated 1.2 million incidents of housebreaking in 2019/20, affecting 891 000 households in South Africa, which represents 5.3 per cent of all households in the country.

While incidents of housebreaking peaked in June and December during the 2018/19 period, housebreaking peaked in June, September, and December in 2019/20.

Source: Briefly News