Fraudsters in South Africa prevented from stealing THIS much

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Fraudsters in South Africa were busy in 2024. However, their efforts were repeatedly foiled by the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS). Speaking at their annual summit last week, the SAFPS says it prevented fraudsters from stealing R5 billion last year. And this brings the total of foiled financial crimes to R30 billion for the last decade.

Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO for SAFPS believes more collaboration between organisations is needed to combat fraudsters in South Africa. He also highlights, the ‘hotspots’ for fraudsters in South Africa. Namely: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, which suffer from the highest instances of crime, otherwise known as the ‘Fraud Triangle’ of South Africa.

FRAUDSTERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Nevertheless, the good news is Gauteng showed a modest 5% decrease in fraud incidents compared to 2023. This is, in part, attributed to the Yima Anti-Scams WarRoom, which acts as a one-stop portal for financial service providers to report scam incidents or suspicious activities.

Interestingly, more fraudsters in South Africa are impersonating their victims to gain access to accounts. This technique is up by 16%, says SAFPS, to 38% in 2024. Fascinatingly, men appear to be more popular targets, perhaps owing to the fact they’re less fastidious about their finances and personal security than women.

NEW SCAM TRENDS

Worryingly, fraudsters in South Africa have a new easy target, retail card accounts. Image: File

Van Schalkwyk also highlighted new scam trends for fraudsters in South Africa. One such practice is opening a bank account solely to move stolen money – 24% up in 2024. Alternatively, ‘money mule’ accounts – either willing or unwilling accomplice accounts – increased to 33%.

Interestingly, retail card accounts – like supermarket rewards programmes – saw more than a 150% increase in crime. This is presumably because these accounts have less sophisticated fraud prevention technology/alerts. Criminals buy on credit and leave their victims with the bill, with debt often going undetected for weeks/months. Through impersonation, and willing accomplices in store, fraudsters may open/gain access to a consumer account with no intent to ever repay it.

BILLIONS SAVED

Nevertheless, despite these alarming tactics, SAFPS says it is winning the war. In 2024 alone, it saved R5 billion. And as this is less than the R7 billion it saved in 2023. Therefore, crime figures appear to be trending in the right direction. It fielded more than 72 000 calls to assist potential fraud victims last year.