First National Bank this week issued a warning about a refund scam that is targeting the tourism industry.
According to FNB, the modus-operandi of the the fraudsters is that they make reservations for various groups of people with cloned card details. Once the merchant (in this instance a tourism operator) confirms that the amount has been processed after a week or so they inform the merchant that the group has supposedly cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances and then instruct the merchant to transfer the funds back to a specific account or even to another card . The funds are then withdrawn within a few days and the account is closed.
According to Herman Kruger, head of electronic business at the bank, a number of guesthouses have recently received such bogus bookings and withdrawals but have luckily been alert enough to request more information and details before transferring any funds.
Kruger urged all clients to be vigilant about this scam and to rather ask for advice if unsure of any procedure or if anything sounds suspicious.
He also said that the following should be kept in mind:
A merchant should never transfer any funds to a travel agent’s cheque account or do a money transfer. Never supply a client with any extras such as free cell-phones. The ‘cardholder” usually also includes a commission fee for the merchant. If a cardholder requests a refund these must be refunded to the same card used for debit and no cash should exchange hands. Be careful of hotmail  and gmail addresses.
“FNB will continue to inform the Namibian public about potential threats while its InContact service will alert customers whenever their accounts are accessed,” he said.