How to proceed if you were defrauded when dealing online

Over 190,000 internet merchants operate in South Africa, and this figure is rising quickly. Today, the majority of individuals view trading as a way to make quick money and are unaware of the complex techniques used by internet fraudsters to con others. No trader like 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.

Many people have previously fallen victim to fraud, 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 humiliated to confess they were duped, and not knowing which authority to complain to.

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

Law enforcement will handle the issue more urgently if there are many complaints about the same con artist. If you ever discover that you have been defrauded when trading online, the first thing you should do is safeguard 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 fraudster 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 primary 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 think the con artist has accessed your bank account and has made unlawful withdrawals. You might 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, since fraudsters may attempt it elsewhere if they suspect you are using it.

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