East Coast Radio - Catch Up Consumer Hacks with Wendy Knowler

That’s not me, that’s a clone

Loading player...
Here is a fast-growing scam - fraudsters copy your social media account, your name, your photo, even your videos, and set up a near-identical fake. Then they slide into your followers’ comments and messages, posing as you, to sell them something dodgy or fish for their money. It happened to me. So, every now and then, check whether a cloned version of you is out there. Tell your followers what your real handle is. Report the fake to the platform. And if you do find an impersonator, a cyber security firm can sometimes get it taken down faster than you can.
27 Jul English South Africa Education · Self-Improvement

Other recent episodes

Selling your home? Tell your bank first

When you sell, your bond has to be cancelled. A buyer can't take ownership while your bank still has a claim over the property. But this is what catches people out. If you haven't given your bank three months' written notice that you intend to settle, it can charge you…
16 Oct 1 min

Where there's no will, there's a formula

Two thirds of us don't have a will. That’s what emerged from legal insurance company LAW FOR ALL’s recent survey of 1800 South Africans. And plenty of us are wrong about what happens next. Four in ten believe a spouse automatically inherits everything. Not so. Without a valid will, the…
15 Oct 1 min

"Duty-free" doesn't mean charge-free

A listener imported a car radio and got a R412 bill from the clearing agent. Car radios are duty-free, he says, so what's this for? Here's the thing. Duty-free refers to one line in the SARS tariff book. Car radios also sit in a category which attracts a 9% ad…
14 Oct 1 min

Never let anyone talk you out of claiming

A security company employee reverses into your stationary car in his response vehicle and admits fault. Surely the company or its insurers should pay for the repairs, not your own insurer? That instinct has cost a Durban pensioner six months and half the repair bill. She lodged a claim with…
13 Oct 1 min

Buying a car privately? Beware - you have no safety net

A woman bought a car from a private seller six months ago. It has given her serious trouble ever since, and the seller's answer is one word: voetstoots. He's right. Voetstoots means "as is", or “with all faults” and it means no recourse. The Consumer Protection Act protects you when…
12 Oct 1 min
All episodes