The New Development Bank (NDB) has issued a statement warning against scammers who swindle the public out of their hard-earned cash by posing as bank employees.
According to the NDB, formerly known as the BRICS Bank, the fraudsters invite individuals and companies to register for training at the NDB’s Sandton offices before releasing assured funds in foreign currencies.
“The recipient of the e-mail or message is then asked to pay an administration or other upfront fee to a different local personal account in order to qualify,” the NDB said.
“The offer is often for a limited period to try and pressure people into responding,” the NDB added.
In other instances, the scammers send an e-mail or other communication that appears to come from the bank, a ministry in government or any other potentially trustworthy source requesting personal information such as identity documents, driver’s licences, passports, addresses, contact details and registration or activation fees.
The organisation explained the bank, established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), only finances infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries.
NDB is not a commercial bank and does not open accounts for individuals, provide them with loans or any form of financing and will never ask for payments or any other favours from potential recipients of funding.
The organisation has since called on people and companies to be cautious about responding to unsolicited messages and be suspicious of e-mails or messages that contain spelling or grammatical errors or other inconsistencies such as Gmail addresses, rather than a company domain e-mail.
“The New Development Bank does not send unsolicited e-mails or any other communication asking the public to open a personal bank account, transfer money, or provide personal information,” NDB Africa Regional Centre Director General, Monale Ratsoma said.
"Be wary of requests for upfront payments or payment for goods or services you have not or do not remember ordering." – SAnews.gov.za
