Protect yourself from fraudsters
We've been alerted that there are scammers impersonating us. They use four platforms to spread false information and possibly scam people out of their money: WhatsApp, and email, social media and direct phone calls.
The messages they send contain similar wording and terminology to our standard communications. They also use our logo and images that are similar to ours.
WhatsApp scams
Through WhatsApp, the scammers are targeting people and promising them investment returns of up to 100% in 24 hours. We don't offer this and currently we don't communicate with clients directly through WhatsApp.
If you receive any WhatsApp messages that refer to us, please check if it's from someone you know, for example, your financial adviser. If it isn't, please follow these steps:
- Open the message
- Tap on the contact name at the top of the screen to open their information
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Report contact.
When you're done, please block the sender.
Email scams
Scammers are also sending out emails that make promises of investment boosts not offered by us. If you receive an email like this, please look at the address it comes from. Emails from us always originate from a mailbox that ends in discovery.co.za
Social media scams
There are also fraudulent pages on social media that impersonate investment service providers.
If you are contacted by a financial services provider on social media, always make sure their page has been verified before you engage with them. Verified pages have blue tick marks next to their names.
If you think the page might be run by scammers you can report it by clicking on the three-dot menu next to their name and selecting Report page.
Scams through direct phone calls
If you receive a phone call from someone who claims to work for a financial services provider, don't give them any information about your bank accounts or cards. Remember that financial service providers will never ask for your debit or credit card details. This includes the card number, CVV number and expiry date.
If you have been contacted by someone you suspect is a scammer, phone the Discovery Invest claim payments team on 086 033 3362 to confirm if this is a valid call and request.
If they claim to be calling from your bank, contact your bank's fraud department on the number provided on their website.
There could be other scams we're unaware of
The above mentioned scams are only the ones we've been alerted of from people we know, for example, clients and financial advisers. There could be others that we're not aware of yet.
If you receive any suspicious messages that seem as though they come from us, please contact your financial adviser. You can also call us on 0860 67 57 77