This post is a tad different than my usual ones but I do feel that it would be helpful to a lot of people. For those of you who have never heard of or interacted with Luno, allow me to provide you with some information on who they are and what they do.
According to their website, “Luno is the simple crypto investment app for everyone. We make it safe and easy to explore, buy, and store crypto – no experience needed. Our mission is to put the power of cryptocurrency in everyone’s hands.”
Taking it a bit further back, in case you’re a tad lost, cryptocurrency, according to Wikipedia, is, “a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It is a decentralized system for verifying that the parties to a transaction have the money they claim to have, eliminating the need for traditional intermediaries, such as banks, when funds are being transferred between two entities.” In my understanding, it’s a different form of currency that doesn’t abide by the same laws as the usual currencies that we use in our everyday lives. Numerous articles on the web would explain it in more detail but that’s not what this post is about.
I was scrolling through Twitter recently and Luno’s Twitter page came up on my feed. I’ve used Luno since 2018 so I think I’m fairly familiar with what they do. A few of the responses to a tweet from the company asked if they have someone named Simon* working for them who promised them profits after they have paid ZAR 8000+. A few others replied that it was definitely a scam and I realised that some people don’t quite know when they’re interacting with Luno or not. I’ve seen a few “Luno” pages and groups on Facebook offering to help others make insane profits from a small amount of money and I have to admit, it looks appealing. Who wouldn’t want to make ZAR 50,000 by only investing ZAR 2000?
This is where the saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is”, fits quite well. I know that we’re struggling but how will it help you and your loved ones if you lose the existing funds you have to someone that won’t even spare you a second thought?
On the Luno website, there are a lot of helpful articles that will protect you from losing your hard-earned money but I know a lot of us don’t have the data or patience to be scrolling through a website. I’ll provide you with the short version and I sincerely hope that it will help to prevent you from being scammed. A lot of people are under the impression that Luno is scamming them as they often send funds to these scammers via the platform. This is usually after the scammer assisted them with creating a Luno account, creating the impression that they’re working with the company.
The most popular scams out there are the social media ones, by far. It’s easier to reach their potential victims and they can create a “credible” profile using pictures of innocent people who have no idea that their faces are associated with a scam. What you need to remember is that digital currency transactions are irreversible hence it’s better for scammers as they basically leave no trace. A temporary sim card can be used to reach out via WhatsApp, fake profiles are created on social media and this makes it impossible to track them down. You can’t call Luno’s customer support service, I’ve scoured their website and realised that they don’t have an inbound phone line, therefore, they won’t reach out to you on WhatsApp, ever!
I recently got contacted via WhatsApp by someone claiming to be from Luno with a +234 mobile number. It was suspicious as I knew that Luno doesn’t have a WhatsApp line but I baited them to see how far they would go. They sent me screenshots of massive amounts of money that “other people” have made by using their services, don’t fall for it!. It’s easy to create a fake website to look believable and they’ll even send you a link to it, as this one did. On these websites, you’ll see your name with a huge amount of money, usually in USD, that they claim is yours, if you send them a small fee.
Don’t fall for it because, once again, if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably a lie. If you are uncertain of whether certain communications – either via SMS, email, or a pop-up ad – are from Luno, you can follow this link and it will give you the option to report the communication to them. Be sure not to click on any links, and or enter your Luno login details unless the web address shows luno.com.
The social media platforms that these imposters would reach out to you on are WhatsApp, Facebook, (they have a few groups using Luno’s name and there would always be a helpful “representative” willing to show you the ropes), Telegram (basically the same MO as Facebook), Twitter and Instagram (they will reach out via direct message or basically spam your comments with “success stories”) and Linkedin (where they will impersonate reputable companies and offer you a job opportunity but ask you to send some sort of payment in the form of cryptocurrency). To stay safe on social media, please read this very informative article as it would help you to recognise the signs of a scam and you can also find a list of Luno’s official social media handles. Another important thing to remember is that Luno only charges very low fees for withdrawals and there are no other costs involved with taking your funds out of your account. You can view the fees for South Africa here or swipe until you find your preferred country. For other fees charged, which would be a clear indication that it’s not Luno, please read through this article.
Another popular scam is the romance one. We’re all looking for our happy-ever-after and unfortunately, these scammers are well aware of it. They go as far as targeting you on dating sites where they would spend quite some time getting to know you. They would either tell you that they’re a crypto trader and convince you to send your coins to them because of “your love” for each other. I, for one, know that we do some questionable things when we’re in love or when we think we are. Sometimes they would spin a sad story that would make you feel obligated to help them and the only way that you can send them funds is, you guessed it, in the form of cryptocurrency. Please don’t accept help from “kind strangers” offering to help you trade or make money. If you are uncertain of how things work on the Luno app, reach out for assistance either via email or their instant Chat platform. The latter you can access from the bottom of any of the Help center articles;, it would look like a message icon and allows you to reach out to someone on their team in real-time.
Luno mentions account security a lot and one of the best ways to secure your account is to enable 2FA. Per this article, “Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an additional layer of security protection to your Luno account. It takes away the worry and replaces it with the comfort of knowing your account is as safe as it can possibly be – and that only you can sign in.” You shouldn’t share this code with anyone, even if they claim to be working for Luno, as it would allow them access to your account. If they claim that you need to authorise something, please note that these are the only actions that require authorisation, as per this article:
● Enabling the option to send cryptocurrency from your Luno wallet
● The first cryptocurrency send from a new device
● Sends above $10,000
● Trusting a device to receive authorisations via push notification
If you think that your account has been compromised, please read through this article as it will assist you with what to do next.
If you forgot or disregard everything I’ve said thus far, please pay attention to this really helpful scam test that you can find on their website here.
Quick scam test:
● Someone contacted me on social media and is offering me big returns in a short time frame by trading forex, binary options, or currencies.
● My trader/broker is asking me to pay for a “cost of transfer”, taxes, or any other fee to access my “profits”.
● I’m encouraged to recruit more people into an investment programme, as I’ll earn an income from their investment. This is a pyramid scheme, which requires you to find new participants to generate investment returns.
● I met the love of my life online, and they’ve asked me to send them money or cryptocurrency.
● A famous person is giving away cryptocurrencies if I send them a small amount first.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are possibly being scammed. Your money is at risk and they recommend you do not continue sending money.
Disclaimer:
I’m no expert and the information mentioned in this post was obtained from Luno’s website. I would recommend having a look at their Help Centre as it has a search option that allows you to look for specific things by typing in the keywords.
In the meantime, stay safe out there and look after each other.
Miss_Pretorius 