1. Scam messages
What is phishing?
Phishing is an online scam where criminals deceive you to obtain your account details by sending fake messages. They can impose to be from Xhuma to trick you into revealing your password, PIN, card number, etc.
What do fraudsters do?
Fraudsters use emails and texts to scam your banking details and funds. They may ask you to click a link, fill out a form, or open attachments containing viruses.
How can I avoid it?
- Pay extra attention to email or SMS notifications.
- If unsure who the sender is, do not reply.
- Double-check the details before you pay.
- Look for spelling or grammar mistakes.
- Avoid hasty decisions, think twice.
- Contact us to verify the source.
2. Scam calls
Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to gain access to your account, trick you into disclosing your personal information or making a payment to an account controlled by them.
We want to make sure you know what we’ll do if we contact you. And, most importantly, the information we’ll never ask you to provide.
How do fraudsters work?
One common way they try to trick you is by contacting you over the phone or by text message, claiming to be from Xhuma Support or the Xhuma Fraud Team, sometimes claiming they're from Government entities. This type of scam can be really effective as fraudsters can easily ‘spoof’ phone numbers, to make calls or text messages look like they’re coming from Xhuma when they're not. Fraudsters can also pretend to be policemen or a well-known or reliable company in your country.
Xhuma will never:
- Tell you that your money is in danger or ask you to move money to a 'safe account'
- Give you account details or pressure you to move money to a different account
- Ask you for your pass-codes, passwords, PIN, SMSs, card details or sensitive personal information
You can avoid consequences of phone scams if you:
- Are careful about making any decisions regarding the movements of your funds
- Never download any external applications. We'll never ask you to download any additional applications, you only need Xhuma app to perform actions on your account. If a caller claims an additional app is necessary, end up the call immediately as most possibly, you're talking with a fraudster.
- Log in carefully. Unless you asked for a phone call and were verified with your account details, don't log in to your Xhuma account on a caller's request
- Never share your account information with an unknown caller
Please always reach out the the Customer Support of the entity the scammer is claiming to be from, before making any decisions or actions, to make sure the allegations being made are accurate, or not.
If you don’t recognise a transaction on your account, please chat to us right away.
3. Payment scams
With online payments getting more and more popular, scammers have more possibilities of tricking you into their scams. If you shop online, you should keep in mind that fraudsters can use marketplace sites to sell you fake goods or products.
What are payment scams?
These are usually when criminals trick you into making a transaction you suspect to be real, and is instead to them. This typically comes from them pretending to be someone they're not.
How can I avoid payment scams?
- Be suspicious of ‘too good to be true’ offers or prices - don't believe an amazing offer, as it could be a scam
- Shop with reputable and reliable retailers - check online reviews. Genuine and trustworthy sellers will have good reviews in general, not a mix of bad or no reviews at all. Look for a padlock icon before the website name, indicating the site is secured with a digital certificate
- Ask questions - ask for details of the products you want to buy. You should be careful if a seller doesn't want to reveal any details about an item or tries to hurry you into paying. Ask to see high value items in person or via video, as well as getting copies of documentation to ensure the seller owns the item.
- Choose a safe way to pay - always use a debit or credit card. Fraudsters may ask you to pay by bank transfer instead of card payment. Transfers are hard to trace and in case of scam, we have limited possibilities of getting your money back.
- Don't pay upfront for expensive products
- Check if the website is genuine - access the website you're buying from by typing it into your web browser. Don’t follow links in unsolicited emails or texts. Once you access the website, check if it looks relatively professional. Colours, logo or layout which don't look right can indicate the website is fake.
Never enter your bank or card details, such as passwords to your bank account, your card PIN or application passwords on a not trusted website.
4. Delivery pending scams
What's happening?
Lately we've been noticing that some people contact Xhuma clients after an online purchase, sending fake SMS from a potential courier, asking for an additional small payment that needs to be done in order to receive the order.
What do fraudsters do?
Because the client just made the purchase and wants to get what was bought, they'll feel inclined to perform that payment, by tapping on that link available on the SMS. Since the scammer usually impersonates well-known delivery companies, people might think this is a legitimate request. Once you tap on those links, they'll ask for your card details, and from the point where those details were introduced, scammers will have access to that card. Once the scammer gets access to the card, they'll perform a considerably higher transaction than the one communicated on the SMS.
How can you avoid it?
- Double-check with the courier if the SMS was legit. You can also search the phone number from which the message was sent on google, to see if it's linked to the courier that is supposed to have your order
- Search the e-mail address on Google to see if you can find that email somewhere on the courier website, or if you already used that courier before, please cross check the previous email with the new one.
5. Marketplace platform scams
What is happening?
Lately we've been noticing that some people contact Xhuma Customers faking the intention of buying items published by our clients in Marketplace Platforms, like (Vinted, Facebook, Ebay, OLX).
What do fraudsters do?
Usually, the scammer contacts the seller faking the intention of buying the item, then in order to send the money to the seller, they usually send a message / email, with a link to a fake webpage (sometimes those pages replicate very well a legitimate page) where the seller will be asked to input their card details in order to receive a payment. Once the seller input their card details, the scammer will have access to the details of the card and be able to execute payments from their end.
How can I avoid it?
- Be careful when dealing in Marketplace websites, as they're very prone to scammers to operate schemes like these.
- Never input your card details in any link sent by an unknown person, since this can very likely be a scam.
- Adjust security settings of your card to the type of transactions you'd be doing. Example: You can turn on 'Online Transactions' only when you're about to do one, and turn it off by the time you perform the transaction. You can easily do this on the Cards Section, tap on the card you wish to change the settings for and then tap on settings.
6. Investment scams
An investment scam is when fraudsters try to convince you to move your money to a fake fund or to pay for a fake investment. Lately, we've been noticing that scammers are approaching Xhuma Clients via other social media platforms, or via email, promising very tempting investment opportunities.
What do fraudsters do?
Scammers usually tend to pass by a broker promising you high value returns on a specific investment, asking you to perform a payment to some investment websites. Once these payments are made, we'll ask to approve it via an SMS that'll be sent to your phone, confirming you want to do this payment. After the scammer receives the payment, they'll stop responding.
How can I avoid it?
- Get advice before you invest - if you're interested in the investment, take the time to talk with a third party, disinterested person. Talk to your regular stockbroker, your attorney, your accountant, or any other reputable consultant.
- Check the website before you invest - make sure the address is correct, the layout looks professional, you can easily find the contact details of an investment company and check if they have good reviews
- Verify if the investment is registered in official records in your country
- Beware of promises of high rates of return and/or quick profits. Scammers are very persuasive, usually they tend to promise very high returns with very little to no risk. Always be suspicious about these perfect opportunities of investment.
- Be suspicious of high-pressure sale. Always be suspicious when someone is pushing you to act fast, you should be able to have time to assess the situation.
- Beware of unsolicited offers. Receiving a call for a perfect investment opportunity? Be careful about these calls, they could be a scam.
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