Don't take the e-mail bait. Banks are bracing themselves for a surge in World Cup-related e-mail scams.

One already doing the rounds is the "Absa Must Top Up Programme"; it cons victims into revealing their online banking login and password by claiming that the recipient's account will be credited with a substantial amount during the World Cup.

Christo Very, managing executive of Absa digital and self-service channels, said: "The common defence against e-mail phishing is to never click on the link provided on the e-mail, and never reply to e-mails with your login or personal information.

"It is also advisable to secure your laptop or PC with a trustworthy security application that will detect malware in malicious e-mails before they cause any real damage."

Software prevents R4m fraud

Standard Bank estimates that the anti-phishing software it made available to its clients free last week has already prevented more thanR4-million in potential fraud by warning 120 clients they were in the process of revealing their login details to a scam website.

The package, called Rapport, has been downloaded by 178000 clients so far.

Rapport found 7600 of these computers were infected with "malware", of which 380 were serious cases aimed at stealing confidential data.

It also found 1316 Standard Bank clients have visited phishing sites.

Avoid the cellphone fleecing

British newspapers are warning World Cup visitors to avoid being fleeced by South Africa's cellphone networks.

England fans have been warned that uploading 10 photos to Facebook via their cellphones in South Africa will cost more than the £55 to £80 price of a World Cup ticket.

British watchdog Consumer Focus has warned foreign visitors to expect charges of £1.25 to £8 per megabyte, while normal voice calls will range from 80p up to £1.50 per minute and SMSs from 25p to 50p.

The charges are substantially higher than those for travellers in the EU, where costs are capped at 37p per minute for making calls, 9p for an SMS and £42.50 for data roaming.

Whereas South African tourists to Europe can enjoy lower rates via a cheap, pre-paid package from a local network, our Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act prevents visitors here opting out of expensive international roaming.

Help fight tax abuse

Enraged that the government is wasting your taxes? Join the Taxpayers' Movement of South Africa, a non-profit organisation that has set up a website www.tpmsa.org.

Founders include Free Market Foundation executive director Leon Louw, freelance journalist Maya Fisher-French and public relations consultant Gillian Findlay. Other members include economists Mike Schussler and Dawie Roodt.

"Over a third of government revenue comes from tax levied on income, but there are only 5.5million registered individual taxpayers (and we estimate only about 4.5million of them pay tax as the balance earn too little)," the organisation says.

"Less than 10% of the South African population pays income tax, (and this is) the single largest source of government revenue.

"R1-million spent on luxuries could have built 20 RDP houses, or paid for 10 nurses' salaries for a year or educated 100 children.

"To some, this may not sound like a lot of money, but it means that a single, middle-class taxpayer would be paying for the luxuries for the next 14 years."

Property still on rebound

The median house price financed by Standard Bank last month was R579000, continuing the rebound from the trough of R500000 recorded in May last year.

The median house price peaked at R650000 in November 2008.

In contrast with Absa and First National Bank, which use average mortgage values, Standard Bank uses the mid-value of mortgages it issues each month to gauge how property prices are doing.

Standard Bank economist Danelee van Dyk forecasts house price growth of between 3% and 5% in the second half of this year.

"A vicious hangover will limit a full-blown property boom that could have been expected in past cycles, given the sheer size of the 6.5 percentage points drop in the prime rate between 2008 and 2010," she said.

FNB house price index hits peak

First National Bank's house price index recorded a peak of 300.4 points for May, up nearly 12% from May last year. The index was based at 100 in 2000.

After taking inflation into account, house prices have appreciated 69% over the past 10 years, said FNB home loans strategist John Loos.

"Given our expectation that interest rate will not be cut further, we retain our view that year-on-year house price growth should peak within the next few months," Loos said.