Tap-to-pay Scam: South Africans warned to discontinue feature
South Africans have been warned to be vigilant of scammers who steal their bank information using the tap-to-pay scam.
A recent security video on social media platform X looks to alert South African consumers about criminals targeting bank cards with the tap-to-pay scam using the contactless payment functionality.
WOMAN FALLS VICTIM TO TAP-TO PAY SCAM
The viral video was shared by Crime Watch’s Yusuf Abramjee and shows a woman falling victim to the crime while using her bank card to pay for her items at an unnamed store.
In the video, the criminal “allows” the victim to pay first, even though he was ahead of her in the queue. Unaware of what is about to happen next, the victim goes ahead of the criminal to pay for her goods. The criminal then moves closer to the speed point machine where the victim will be tapping her card. He fidgets with his phone, and when she pays using her card, the criminal uses his smartphone to scan her card using a software that likely clones the card’s details.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Tap-Tap!!! Be careful of Card Scammers.
The victim had no clue that her card was being cloned or that she was being scammed. #CrimeWatch pic.twitter.com/TWXJ9BIGpO
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) March 12, 2024
FRAUDSTERS USE NFC TECHNOLOGY
According to BusinessTech, the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBSSA) revealed that the scam works by exploiting near-field communication (NFC) technology and tap-and-go payment systems.
Once the fraudsters have obtained their victim’s bank card details – such as the card number, expiry date and CVV number – they use it to link their smart devices to payment platforms. These include Apple Pay, Google Pay Samsung Pay and Garmin Pay.
The OBSSA revealed that this type of fraud is becoming popular among fraudsters because digital wallet payments do not require a one-time-pin (OTP) for every transaction.
FNB DISCONTINUING TAP-AND-GO OPTION
Last month, there was confusion over First National Bank (FNB) announcing that it would be discontinuing the tap-to-pay functionality.
While the financial institution’s customers were under the impression that they would no longer be allowed to use the contactless payment service at all, FNB head of card digitisation, Jason Viljoen, cleared the air.
Speaking to TechCentral, he said that the bank is ending support for tap-to-pay in its own banking app only.
“Only our homegrown FNB Tap to Pay feature in the banking app will be ‘sunsetted’ in favour of our numerous other contactless payment alternatives.
“The sunset of the banking app feature will be completed in April, with existing users of the feature still being able to transact until this time,” Viljoen said.
“FNB continues to support contactless payments via bank card and all other digital contactless solutions. These include Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay, Fitbit Pay and Swatch Pay.”
FNB will discontinue its in-app tap-to-pay feature on 14 April 2024.