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Spam SMSs that prey on the desperate may well be legitimate — but they must follow certain rules
Are you inundated with SMSs offering loans at seemingly unbelievable interest rates? The National Credit Regulator (NCR) has warned consumers about unscrupulous credit providers or scam artists trying to take your hard-earned money. If you are up against the wall, the chances of you either falling for a scam or taking out dangerous levels of debt increases. While some may be offering legitimate insurance or credit, some offers are from unscrupulous lenders — and there are also criminals attempting to scam you out of money without providing a service at all. The trick is to distinguish the legitimate offers from the dodgy ones, and while you may be able to block unsolicited marketing from legitimate providers, there isn’t much more you can do to stop criminals permanently. Insurance SMSs If you don’t want to receive marketing SMSs from legitimate service providers, the only redress currently available is to block them, Jennifer Preiss, the deputy ombud for long-term insurance says. “...
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