You’ve seen it a million times: “Report your card as lost/stolen immediately”. These notices, usually accompanied by a telephone number, are plastered on ATMs, on banking websites, and the cards themselves.
Banks prominently display these notices because of the dramatic increase in credit/debit card fraud in South Africa. SABRIC has reported, for the 2019 period, a 20.5% increase in card fraud compared to 2018. Gross losses on card transactions in South Africa amounted to R428.6m. Click here to read the SABRIC annual report for 2019.
Banks are obliged not to hold credit/debit card consumers liable for any fraudulent transactions occurring after a consumer has reported their card as lost or stolen. Section 94(2) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (“NCA”) provides as follows:
A credit provider must not impose a liability on a consumer for any use of a credit facility after the time that the consumer has reported the loss or theft of the associated card, personal identification code or number or similar device, unless-
(a) the consumer’s signature appears on the voucher, sales slip, or similar record evidencing that particular use of the credit facility; or
(b) the credit provider has other evidence sufficient to establish that the consumer authorised or was responsible for that particular use of the credit facility.
The NCA gives consumers powerful protection against liability for fraudulent transactions on their credit/debit cards, as long as consumers are vigilant and notify their bank, or credit provider, as soon as they’ve lost their card or if it’s stolen. Remember: don’t disclose PIN numbers and other personal credit card information to third parties.
SABRIC has listed some helpful TIPS to protect your credit/debit cards from fraudulent use.
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