Spotting Common Scams: Phishing, Social Engineering and Fake Messages
MEDIA RELEASE
Issued: 16 October 2026
Insight from Abner Kashikola, IT Security Specialist, Letshego Holdings Namibia
Most fraud attempts share one thing in common they target people, not systems. According to Abner Kashikola, IT Security Specialist at Letshego Holdings Namibia, criminals have learned that it is often easier to manipulate a person into handing over information than it is to break through technical defenses. Understanding how these tactics work is one of the most effective forms of protection a customer can have.
Take phishing, for example, a term used for email messages that impersonate legitimate organisations while encouraging the reader to click a link, share personal details, or act under a false sense of urgency. Its close relatives include smishing (the same trick delivered by SMS), vishing (delivered by phone call), and the newer QR-shing, which uses a fake QR code to direct victims to a fraudulent site. All these commonly pose as a bank, service provider, or government agency in order to extract confidential information.
These tactics are not the only ones in play. Several scams continue to cause significant financial losses for Namibians and are worth understanding. Fake online sellers who advertise on real, trusted platforms, take payment, and never deliver. They account for the largest share. A TransUnion report from June 2026 found that 35% of Namibians who lost money to digital fraud lost it this way, often through fake sellers and doctored proof-of-payment screenshots in buy-and-sell groups. Vishing, calls that create panic and extract a one-time password, is currently the single biggest driver of EFT fraud losses in the country. Investment and cryptocurrency scams spread through WhatsApp and social media, promising guaranteed returns and an easy lifestyle. SIM card cloning and swapping, often signaled by an unexplained loss of network signal, is also rising quickly.
Fake government grant messages, such as the fabricated N$1,600 Social Assistance Cash Grant that circulated on WhatsApp in September 2025, and fake job recruitment scams, which ask applicants to forward a link to several WhatsApp groups before they can "apply." Almost none of these involve hacking in the technical sense. They involve talking, calling, messaging, or simply convincing someone. This is known as social engineering, when scammers use deliberate manipulation of trust, fear, curiosity, or excitement to influence a decision. Rather than attacking a system, the criminal attacks judgment, usually under pressure that discourages verification and critical thinking.
Always remember an unexpected request for personal information, a message demanding urgent action, a suspicious link or attachment, an unsolicited prize or reward, or any request for a password, PIN, or verification code, should signal a warning to pause, verify, protect. Before responding to any request involving personal or financial information, customers should verify it independently, using contact details they already trust, not the ones supplied in the message itself. Scammers rely on urgency and emotion to bypass that pause. The customers who stay safe are not the most technical, they are the ones who have learned to pause before they click.
Report anything suspicious to any of these channels:
Toll-free for Telecom fixed lines: 080 000 3313
Toll-free for MTC users: 081 918 37
Call back number: +27 11 929 3334
Email: letshego@tip-offs.com
Website: www.tip-offs.com
For media inquiries, please contact:
Mrs. Ongame Mutorwa
Communications Manager
Tel:(+264)812553658
E-mail: OngameM@Letshego.com
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