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10 April 2014

Telkom cautions against fraudsters

Fraudsters are again targeting Telkom customers.
“They deposit a stolen or counterfeit cheque into a customer’s account and then on a false Telkom letterhead, inform the customer that Telkom had erroneously deposited the cheque into the customer’s account as reimbursement for overpayment collected on their telephone account. This letter is usually delivered to the customer by hand or via email,” says Thokozani Mvelase, Telkom Group Executive for Enterprise Risk Management.
He added that the customer is then requested to transfer the amount into a bank account that is purported to be under Telkom’s name.
“This transaction usually happens before the cheque is cleared by the bank. As such, the customer’s account would be fraudulently debited with the cheque amount while the initial cheque deposit is declined by the bank. The fraudsters would, in the interim, have withdrawn the cash from the “Telkom” account thus leaving the customer out of pocket for the value of the initial cheque deposit amount.”
Telkom customers are urged to be on the alert and to do the following should they receive a “Telkom” / unknown cheque deposit in their bank accounts:
  • Phone the nearest Telkom Customer Service Branch and confirm whether there was indeed a cheque issued in lieu of an overpayment,
  • Ask for a show of a Telkom ID card, from a person delivering the letter if it is delivered in person. If one is shown, please record card details,
  • Attempt to record the type, make and registration number of the vehicle that the person delivering the letter arrives in;
  • Inform Telkom’s hotline at 0800 124 000.
 
“It is important that customers remember that Telkom passes credits on telephone accounts if the need arises and does not refund through deposits into customers’ bank accounts,” concluded Mvelase.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Pynee Chetty

Senior Specialist: Media Relations

Group Communication

Tel:+27 12 642 1716

Mobile: +27 81 389 7874

Email: chettpr2@telkom.co.za

 OR

Leigh-Ann Francis

Specialist: Media Relations

Group Communication

Tel: +27 12 642 1728

Mobile: +27 81 391 4780

Email: francilm@telkom.co.za

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ABOUT TELKOM:

Telkom is a leading communications services provider in South Africa. We had consolidated operating revenue of R16.8 billion and normalised profit after tax of R1, 683 million for the period ended 30 September 2015. Total assets amounted to R41.9 billion and equity attributable to the owners of Telkom to R23.5 billion as of 30 September 2015. The group generated normalised free cash flow of R1.4 billion for the period ended 30 September 2015.

As of 30 September 2015, we had approximately 3.3 million telephone access lines in service and 1,030,441 ports connected via MSAN access. We offer business, residential and payphone customers a wide range of services and products, including:

  • fixed-line retail voice services using PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) lines, including ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) lines, and the sale of subscription based value-added voice services and calling plans;
  • fixed-line customer premises equipment rental and sales services both voice and data needs and these include PABX, Computers, Routers, Modems, Telephone handsets and other ancillary equipment;
  • interconnection services, including terminating and transiting traffic from South African mobile operators, as well as from international operators and transiting traffic from mobile to international destinations;
  • fixed-line data services, including domestic and international data transmission services, such as point-to-point leased lines, ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) services, packet-based services, managed data networking services and internet access and related information technology services;
  • Data Centre Operations includes e-commerce, application service provider, hosting, data storage, e-mail and security services;
  • W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), a 3G next generation network, including fixed voice services, data services and nomadic voice services;
  • mobile communication services, including voice services, data services and handset sales through our mobile navbar-brand called Telkom Mobile;
  •  information and communication services including cloud services, infrastructure services, workspace services, global service integration management and hardware and network equipment sales locally, in seven African countries, the UK and Dubai through Business Connexion Group; and
  • other services including directory services, through Trudon (Pty) Ltd, wireless data services, through Swiftnet (Pty) Ltd.

Convergence is one of our key strategic initiatives in building a sustainable future for Telkom.  We will lead the provision of converged services in South Africa in support of our mission statement: Seamlessly connecting people to a better life.