Deposit and refund scams

Deposit and refund scams are designed to trick you with payment slips or proof of payments in the hope that you'll hand over goods or provide services before you notice that the funds have not actually been cleared.

Money paid is not money cleared

Deposit scams

A deposit scam involves the use of changed or fraudulent teller receipts, deposit slips or internet payment confirmations to trick you into believing that a payment had been made into your account and was cleared, creating the impression that the payment cannot be returned or reversed. Typically, you will be asked to hand over goods before you realise it was a scam.

Here's an example:

Fraudsters respond to your advertisement to sell your laptop. They will tell you they have made a cash payment or electronic fund transfer (EFT) into your account, send you 'proof of payment' and ask for the laptop. If you rely solely on the proof of payment and give them the laptop, the money paid with a fraudulent cheque is subsequently returned and you are left with a debit on your account and no laptop.

Refund scams

A refund scam also involves the use of changed or fraudulent receipts, deposit slips or internet payment confirmations to trick you into believing that a payment had been made into your account and was cleared.

Here's an example:

Fraudsters contact you, claiming they have either made an incorrect payment into your account or an accidental overpayment on an expected payment due to you. They then ask you to refund the overpaid (or incorrectly paid) amount by EFT to their account. To support their claim they give you a fraudulent internet payment confirmation or cash deposit slip to confirm the deposit of cleared funds. You may be convinced that the funds are cleared and then return the incorrect payment or overpayment. As you made the 'refund' by electronic transfer, the funds are immediately released and the fraudsters withdraw the money and disappear. A few days later the initial deposit made with a fraudulent cheque is returned and your account is debited.

Fraudsters have also started to impersonate representatives from well-known companies in an effort to make their scam appear real and to put pressure on you to act quickly.

Tips to avoid deposit and refund scams

• Wait for clearance. Never rely on proof of payment alone. Rather wait for the funds to clear before handing over any goods. Cheques can take up to seven working days to clear. Also remember that even bank-guaranteed cheques can be forged. You can contact Nedbank to confirm clearance of a cheque.
• Use bank-approved beneficiaries. There are many well-known companies on a prepopulated list available on your internet banking profile. If you use these details, you will know you are paying the money into the right account.
• Look out for small mistakes.Look out for little errors on your proof of payment or possible changes made to it.These are often signs of fraud.