How to proceed if you were defrauded when dealing online

No trader enjoys the idea of getting conned, but it's a risk they take, so they need to be prepared in case it ever happens when they're trading online.

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Over 190,000 internet merchants operate in South Africa, and this figure is rising quickly. Most people today view trading as a way to make quick money and are unaware of the complex techniques used by internet scammers to con consumers. No trader enjoys the idea of getting conned, but it's a risk they take, so they need to know what to do if it ever happens while they are trading online.

Many people have already fallen victim to scams, and the majority of them are highly educated people. Some of them choose not to disclose the scam for a variety of reasons, including the small amount they lost, the belief that it would not make a difference, the desire to forget it ever occurred, being too ashamed to confess they were duped, and not knowing which authority to report to.

It's not a good idea to do nothing after being conned because the con artist might continue to defraud people and harass you again. When you report a scam, the name of the perpetrator is placed to a database and watch list maintained by numerous cooperating law enforcement authorities.

Law enforcement will treat the issue more urgently if there are multiple complaints about the same con artist. If you ever discover that you have been defrauded while trading online, the first thing you should do is secure your account and halt any future money losses. After that, you should denounce the scam and take steps to get your money back.

Protecting your account after being conned

Block all payment cards: If you have given a scammer access to your credit or debit card information, you should immediately block the cards by calling your bank's hotline. For banning debit cards from being used on your phone, several banks offer USSD codes. A card can be blocked, then a new one requested.

Some banks provide virtual cards that can only be used for online purchases. You only transfer the necessary amount to the virtual card from your main account before making a purchase. This restricts any loss to the value of the virtual card alone.

Contact your bank right away to deactivate your account and put all of the money in it in suspense if you have reason to believe the con artist has accessed your bank account and has made unlawful withdrawals. You could call banks' USSD codes for account deactivation from your mobile device.

A stronger password should be used for your trading account and any other credentials that have been obtained after a fraud. Always use alphanumeric characters and unusual characters in your passwords.

Change your trading account password on any other apps you may have used, as scammers may attempt it there if they suspect you are using it.

Amass your proof: You should keep safe all receipts and correspondence between you and the con artist so that you can use them as proof. The receipts will be offered to law enforcement when you press for fund recovery in order to expedite the process.

exposing a fraud

Depending on the scam's specifics, you may want to report it. Here are a few potential outcomes:

Scammed by Unknown Persons/Entity: If you have been defrauded online or off by an unknown person or entity who gave you false information about their creditworthiness and you gave them your money. The most frequent instances include being duped by a phony investment plan online or offline, a phishing website masquerading as a legitimate financial business, trading impersonation emails, or having your personal financial information stolen through phishing or hacking.

Then, you need to seek assistance right away from law enforcement organizations like the FSCA and South African Police Services (10111).

Additionally, you should contact the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) in South Africa through phone at +27 12 641 6000 and website at www.fic.gov.za/secure/reports.aspx.

You must also get in touch with your bank to request the blockage or reversal of the transaction; a copy of your complaint to the appropriate law enforcement agency and supporting documentation will expedite the process.

Additionally, agencies like the South African Fraud Prevention Service could be able to assist you.

You could also file a complaint with the federal trade commission in the United States by going to their website, https://econsumer.gov/, if this includes international countries. For the purpose of locating and resolving fraud cases, the FTC collaborates with numerous law enforcement organizations.

Swindled by an unlicensed or foreign broker:

All financial service providers need a license from the FSCA in order to operate in South Africa. According to the services they provide, these licenses differ, and you can check the licensed operators on the FSCA's List of Regulated Entities and Persons.

Numerous unlicensed forex and stock brokers operate in South Africa, using offshore licenses, making traders vulnerable to frauds, according to Safe Forex Brokers SA.

In South Africa, an unlicensed broker may conduct business without a license, and in this situation, the FSCA is irrelevant because such brokers are not governed by it. In the event that such a broker commits fraud or other wrongdoing, you have no remedy.

However, you should still get in touch with FSCA so that they can issue a warning and safeguard other investors from these scams. You could potentially get in touch with the Police or FIC, two law enforcement organizations.

You might even write online reviews critical of these brokers to warn other traders away from them.

Scammed by an FSCA-regulated FSP: Regulated entity fraud still occurs, albeit less frequently.

All financial service providers (FSPs) in South Africa are licensed by and regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), the country's capital market watchdog. If you are scammed by any broker who holds an FSCA license, please report it to the FSCA by visiting their website or sending an email to info@fsca.co.za. These FSPs include brokers. Additionally, you can contact the FSCA by calling their contact center at 0800 20 3722.

The statute gives the FSCA the authority to revoke a broker's license and ask a court to liquidate the broker's assets if it determines that the broker committed fraud.

Swindled by an overseas broker that is regulated: Some online brokers in South Africa possess licenses from other nations, and they are accountable to the capital market regulators in those nations.

If you believe an international broker has defrauded you, visit their website to see which regulatory body granted them a license. Then, go to the regulator's website and file a complaint using the email addresses that are listed there. You can call the regulator to make a complaint because their phone numbers will also be listed on their website.

The return of money

If the payment was made with a debit card or credit card, you should contact your bank right once to register a chargeback and provide documentation of the incident.

A bank will typically present you with a form to complete before sending the request to the card issuer, such as Visa or Mastercard, along with the chargeback explanation. Normally, you have 120 days from the transaction to request a chargeback. You can seek assistance from “Ombudsman for Banking Services” if your bank does not respond to your request for information or assistance within 20 days of your complaint.

Bank payments may move through intermediary banks if the con artist sends money to accounts located outside of South Africa. If you request the recall of your cash quickly enough, there may be a chance that you will receive your money back. However, if the scammer has already used the money, it will take longer to get your money back if you report the issue late and the fraudster's account is still financed.

The Bank will take your case more seriously if you obtain a court order requesting that it recover the monies from the con artist. Keep a record of the request you made to your bank to recall the monies.

If you send your bank an email or a letter, let them acknowledge it, and then keep a copy for your records as proof. These would be useful if you decided to pursue your case with the courts, police enforcement, and banking ombudsman.

A law enforcement agency would receive an order on the recovery of the cash if you had already complained to them, which would speed up the process of recovery.

Don't lose the gift card if you used it to pay the con artist. Keep the gift card as proof while you swiftly contact the company that issued it and request that they block the card and any monies since it was used in a scam.

You might swiftly request them to recall the transfer and repay your money, citing fraud as your justification, if the scammer is located outside of South Africa and you paid the scammer via an IMTO (international money transfer operator), such as MoneyGram, Western Union, etc. MoneyGram's phone number is 001 347 6961234 and its email address is customerservice@moneygram.com. Western Union's email address is westernunion@emails.westernunion.com.

Since wire transfers involve international jurisdictions and foreign banks only cooperate with requests from law enforcement agencies that can provide sufficient proof of fraud, it is less probable that recovery will be achieved once they have been executed for parties outside of South Africa. In these circumstances, local law enforcement agencies must work in concert with foreign law enforcement agencies to recover funds by obtaining

You could also ask for assistance from groups that focus on fund recovery.

You must exercise patience.

You must give the relevant agencies time to conduct their investigation after submitting all of your proof. Recovery of funds might be challenging since the con artist might use your money to purchase cryptocurrency, further complicating the procedure of money recovery.

The recovery process could be drawn out since scammers might be headquartered in multiple countries and parts of the world where the regulations that apply might be different. The entire process could take some time to complete because catching a scammer and getting the money back are not the same thing.

Additionally, you must approach the proper individuals for assistance with fund recovery. Another fraud that involves the fund recovery procedure is when con artists pose as experts in the field in order to obtain an advance payment. After you pay the advance charge, they will continue to demand cash, and when you are unable to meet up with them, they cut off contact with you.

Genuine fund recovery companies will wait to collect their fees until the money has been retrieved. Fees should only be collected following the successful recovery of cash. Use fund recovery professionals only if they have a proven track record of successfully resolving situations much like yours.