The National Financial Ombud Scheme has encouraged men and women who have fallen victim to fraudulent romance scams to report the cases with the police and the banks.
IOL has been running the scammed series, where numerous South African women have now joined hands, speaking out against the rampant romance scams.
The women who are often breadwinners in their households, are left destitute, emotionally traumatised with some women reportedly committing suicide after being scammed.
In desperation, the victimised women have desperately reached out to different government departments and agencies including the Public Protector, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
The majority of the women who spoke to IOL accuse commercial banks or bank officials of complicity in the fraudulent scams due to some glaring irregularities in the withdrawals of the money from the victims’ bank accounts.
Some of the scammed women insist they were not individually handed the money inside the banks, but the money was handed over to the scammers who seemed to be familiar with the banks’ staff. Other victims told IOL that they were escorted into banks by the scammers, and in some cases, large sums of money were withdrawn without prior appointment.
“All we are saying is that the banks could have protected us, even in our moment of weakness, but bank officials abetted the scams. The way many women are easily getting these huge cash loans is questionable. No one has explained how almost every scammed woman was told to transfer all her money and make withdrawals from FNB. The scammers are very specific, even regarding the banking hall to be used,” said one victim who asked not to be named.
IOL reached out to the National Financial Ombud (NFO), the umbrella financial services ombud scheme formed by the amalgamation of four separate previously existing South African ombud schemes: the offices of the Banking Ombud (OBS); the Credit Ombud (CO); the office of the Long-term Insurance Ombud (OLTI); and the Short-Term Insurance Ombudsman (OSTI).
Nerosha Maseti, Lead Ombudsman for the Banking Division at the NFO said the primary purpose and mandate of her organisation is to resolve consumer complaints against financial service providers in the banking, insurance (life and non-life) and credit space.
“When a banking consumer submits a complaint regarding losses suffered due to financial crime, the NFO’s banking division investigates the case thoroughly, and the resolution is based on the merits of each individual matter. In investigating such complaints, the NFO assesses whether or not banks have treated their customers fairly and in compliance with their own policies, procedures and all applicable laws, regulations, and codes of conduct.”
Maseti said the investigation will also typically involve ascertaining whether there was wrongdoing or negligence on the part of the bank that caused the customer’s losses or contributed to the losses.
“If, after investigation, it is found that there was maladministration or unfair treatment of the customer by the bank or that the bank could have prevented or mitigated the customer’s losses but failed to do so, the NFO’s banking division has the power to recommend to the bank involved to refund the portion of the customer’s losses that could have been prevented but for the bank’s conduct,” said Maseti.
“As an independent organisation, the NFO is unwavering in its commitment to resolving disputes impartially, and at no charge to the complainant.”
Specifically, on the rampant romance scams, specialised police investigators have been roped in by the Hawks to crack some of the cases which were ordinarily closed or dismissed at many police stations.
Police officers often dismiss the scammed women, as evidence at times shows that the victims “voluntarily’ gave the money to the scammers, who were their boyfriends at the time.
“In the case of romance scams, victims typically voluntarily make payments to the fraudsters accounts and/or provide the fraudsters with access to their accounts to make the payments themselves. It is unfortunately difficult for banks to pick up fraud in these instances, as the payments are made using legitimate methods using the customers' unique access credentials,” she said.
“Banks also do have a duty to provide customers with safe and secure banking and payment platforms. To assist with this, they have various mechanisms to ensure that customers are verified when doing transactions or opening accounts and fraud monitoring and detection systems in place.”
However, Maseti said every case must be investigated based on its individual facts.
“Each matter is investigated based on its unique facts and our office will take all the above factors into consideration when assessing and investigating complaints,” she said.
“If a customer has been a victim of a crime of this nature, it must be reported to the SAPS and their bank as soon as possible. If the customer has a complaint against their bank or believes that their bank was negligent or treated them unfairly, they are welcome to contact the NFO for free assistance. For more details, please visit www.nfosa.co.za or contact 0860-800-900 or [email protected].”
In July, IOL reported that a Gauteng mother in her 50s is ruing the day she met the man who became her lover for about a year, before he disappeared with her pension lump sum of R2.8 million, leaving her and her two sons without enough to eat.
In an interview with IOL, Nothando, the mother whose identity is withheld to protect her from victimisation, opened a case at Pretoria North SA Police Service (SAPS), which was confirmed by Gauteng police.
IOL