When it comes to online scams there is no shortage in South Africa. The issue has become even worse with the introduction of technologies such as deepfakes and artificial intelligence. The importance of knowing what is real and what is a scam is not only important for citizens but also for entrepreneurs.
An online scam is a deception carried out over the Internet. The aim of the scam is to trick people into giving away personal, financial or sensitive information. In some cases, the scammers will directly steal people’s money using fraudulent links.
In 2023, 69% of South African consumers reported being targeted with online, e-mail, phone call or text message fraud attempts between September and December. Aon’s Cyber Risk Survey for South Africa revealed that 22% of participating companies have suffered a cyber-crime incident in the past five years.
The latest scam to target South Africans is the Tiger Agriculture scam. Today, we will take a look into Tiger Agriculture as an example and give you tips on how to recognise a scam.
Tiger Agriculture Scandal
In November 2024, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued a statement warning against Tiger Agriculture. The statement explained that Tiger Agriculture is a pyramid scheme that is being promoted on social media.
The scam offered people an opportunity to invest in agricultural product(s) and gain profitable returns of up to 257% per month. The return would come once the agricultural product(s) had reached maturity.
The scam was carried out on social media platforms Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. The company used referrals and videos to convince users that the investment is legit.
A few days after the warning from the FSCA, Tiger Agriculture began promoting Farm Home Stead. This was a replication of the initial scam but based on farm animals instead of plants. In this scam, the company used the same website layout and changed the plant pictures with pictures of animals (cattle, pigs and chickens).
Additionally, the company’s Facebook Group announced that it would be launching a Ford Car Rentals offering. This new offering also used the same website layout as Tiger Agriculture and Farm Home Stead.
The scam was made to look legit by the scammers. They had a website and had people commenting that it works, and they have received their returns. Additionally, Tiger Agriculture used the logo of the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) to further legitimise itself.
NAMC released a statement (June 2024) stating it has no relationship or partnership with Tiger Agriculture. Furthermore, the organisation distanced itself from any activities associated with Tiger Agriculture and warned the public to exercise caution when coming across any invitations or posters or Tiger Agriculture.
This scam is one of many examples of how scammers are targeting individuals. The scams online can range from investment opportunities to fake pages advertising as legitimate businesses like the Sun International R25 vacation scam.
Here are a few tips outlined by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) you can learn to protect yourself from scams, especially online scams.
- Only shop at reputable retailers and avoid unknown ones, especially online.
- Use a tool that can help you do website security checks for scams and other vulnerabilities.
- Be aware that the ‘s’ in the ‘https’ typically found by website URLs does not mean a website is secure.
- When registering on a website (e-commerce), choose a strong password and don’t save your login details on any computer or mobile device that is not yours.
- Look for things such as spelling errors and pay attention to the e-mail address which can be an indication that something is not legitimate.
- Keep an eye out for fake e-commerce advertising specials.
- Avoid saving your card details on e-commerce websites.
- Be wary of online transactions that don’t redirect your transaction via your bank’s 3D secure page or mobile app.
- Try to use different passwords on various domains
- Always check your bank balance after making a payment and report any fraudulent transactions immediately.
- Leverage additional security measures such as one-time pins that are sent to your phone before you can make a payment.
- If you own a business, you must ensure you have cyber security measures in place to protect your customers
- Keep your security systems up to date.
- DO NOT! Open any attachments from unknown sources or click on links from dodgy sources (e-mail, SMS, social media etc.).
- Have an ‘online shopping safety’ document on your website to educate your customers on how they can keep themselves safe.
Using these tips you can successfully avoid online scams and protect your business and customers. If this doesn’t seem like a concern for you now, you have time to integrate robust security measures to ensure it never happens.
For more information on cybersecurity for small businesses, read our article about the importance of cyber security.
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