Botswana: Botswana Police Service (BPS) has noted with concern several ongoing attempts by criminals whose intention is to obtain money from Botswana and residents through fraudulent means.
The BPS is currently seized with two trending scams: a body slimming scam code-named Matcha Slim and another one known as the P40 Scam.
The first scam body slimming scam, known as Matcha Slim, uses the internet Uniform Resource Locator (URL) https://bw3.matcha-sllim.cc to entice individuals into learning/reading about the body slimming benefits of the product, purporting to be used by local medical professionals.
The victims are asked to fill in the forms by stating their names, contacts and other critical personal information. The fraudsters then use the provided personal details to swindle victims of their hard-earned money.
The second scam, P40 Promotion fraud, imitates local private and parastatal organisations by using their names, logos, colours and impressions to attract local would-be buyers.
The fraudsters claim to advertise goods and services in cyberspace. In the process of advertising, they post that there is so much luggage that has not been claimed by owners and is held at a warehouse locally where the goods are now to be sold for BWP40.00.
The unsuspecting individuals are then asked to answer leading questions and provide their contacts and banking details for purchases. The criminals then use the information provided to debit more than the purported BWP40.00 from victims‘ bank accounts.
The BPS shared some guidelines on scam protection and avoidance with the public:
- Verify Sources:
Verify the legitimacy of any communication, especially if it involves financial transactions or personal information. Contact the company or organisation directly using official contact information to confirm the legitimacy of requests.
- Beware of Unsolicited Communications:
Be cautious about unexpected emails, messages, or phone calls. Scammers often use unsolicited communications to trick individuals into providing sensitive information.
- Check Website Security:
Ensure that Websites where you enter personal or financial information have secure connections. (look for “https://” in the URL).
- Use Strong, Unique Passwords:
Create strong and unique passwords for online accounts, and avoid using the same password across multiple platforms.
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA):
Whenever possible, enable 2FA for added security on your accounts.