Scammers have stepped up their game, and not in a good way.

They've gone from shady tricks to using actual bank short codes to scam unsuspecting people. That's right, the same numbers your bank uses to text you are now being used by criminals in an attempt to swindle you out of your cash.

Over the last six months, Namibians have lost millions of dollars to these scams.

Almost every two weeks, there is a report of large sums of money that are withdrawn from a person's bank account without a trace.

The Central Bank reported last year that scammers got away with over N$10 million, largely through electronic fund transfers.

And even reporters in the nbc newsroom were targeted.

Our attempts to call back the number and claim the N$30,000 cash that a colleague was supposedly to have won failed.

Ushona never picked up our calls, and she is unknown to MTC.

This is the latest victim, who received a call from a man purporting to be a member of the Windhoek City Police.

He is demanding urgent confirmation; he tells her that her FNB account has been credited with N$750,000, and should she fail to provide them with a confirmation code, she will be arrested.

Yes, you saw that correctly; the short code belongs to FNB.

Authorities have continuously warned that no bank will ever ask for a person's PIN or OTP. If someone does this, then it's a scam. Full stop.

Authorities urge the public to stay alert. Never give out your personal banking information. Don't click on links or call back unknown numbers, even if they look familiar. And always confirm directly with your bank or service provider.