Many consumers are looking forward to this day - and so are scammers. Be prepared.

In a somewhat worrying case highlighted recently by the office of the National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO), a consumer lost R120,000 after she responded to a social media advert offering discounted airline tickets.

After submitting her phone number and email address via a link, she was contacted through WhatsApp and instructed to download an app from the Google Play Store to access promo codes. Although the link appeared secure, the app was fraudulent and embedded with malware. Soon after installation, her phone began overheating and behaving erratically. The unexpected activation of the camera's green light also raised immediate concerns.

When she checked her banking app, she discovered two unauthorised transactions and swiftly reported the incident to both her bank and the police. Despite her prompt action within just 27 minutes after the transactions, the bank denied liability, citing that the payments had been authorised via selfie verification on her trusted device.

The consumer escalated the matter to the NFO, seeking a full refund. The ombud found that the funds had already been used before the fraud was reported, leaving no opportunity for recovery. The bank also provided evidence that biometric authentication was used to approve the transactions.

Nerosha Maseti, credit...