07 Aug Standard Bank introduces anti-vishing feature amid rise in fraud

Standard Bank of South Africa has launched a new security feature on its mobile banking app to alert clients to potential vishing threats. Once activated and consented to by the user, the feature notifies clients of suspicious calls.

This development follows a recent warning about an increase in vishing fraud targeting older individuals, particularly those nearing retirement or who have recently received cash payouts.

Vishing, a method where scammers use phone calls and social engineering tactics to manipulate victims into revealing confidential information, has become a major contributor to application, digital banking, and card-related fraud, according to data from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Standard Bank explained that fraudsters often present ‘high-return’ investment opportunities to victims, convincing them to transfer funds into fraudulent investment accounts with false promises of substantial returns.

Unlike phishing scams, which involve deceiving victims into clicking on malicious links in emails or text messages, vishing directly manipulates individuals into divulging sensitive banking information or performing actions that compromise their account security.

Belinda Rathogwa, Standard Bank’s head of digital and e-commerce, noted that fraudsters often urge victims to keep these fraudulent transactions secret from their banks and loved ones, hindering early detection. She explained that, due to effective risk controls that prevent unauthorised account access, fraudsters have increasingly turned to social engineering to deceive clients in other ways.

To further protect against fraud, Standard Bank advises clients to ignore unsolicited requests for personal information, refrain from sharing their one-time PIN (OTP), and avoid using public Wi-Fi for banking transactions. The bank also recommends using fingerprint or facial recognition for enhanced security on devices and banking apps.