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Major South African banks have raised the alarm over a surge in sophisticated scams targeting banking customers, with fraudsters employing increasingly deceptive tactics to steal money and personal information.
Capitec, Discovery Bank, Nedbank, and Standard Bank have all issued warnings, while the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) has echoed concerns, urging vigilance among consumers.
Nedbank recently reported a spike in “selfie scams”, where criminals trick victims into enrolling in fake reward programs. Fraudsters approach people in public, offering free vouchers in exchange for signing up.
“The scammer starts the process on their own phone and asks the victim to complete facial biometric verification,” explained Lucas Venter, Nedbank’s Head of Fraud Detection.
By Gamuchirai Mapako
“Unknowingly, the victim is actually enrolling in a banking app controlled by the fraudster.”
Once the victim hands over their phone to approve a notification or enter a one-time PIN, the criminal gains access to their bank accounts.
To stay on the safe side, users are advices to always verify promotions directly with the store, never let a stranger perform facial verification for you, never hand your phone to someone you don’t know and carefully check banking notifications before approving them.
Any suspicious activity to your bank should be reported immediately. Fraudsters are also using phishing (fake emails/SMSs) and phishing (fake calls) to impersonate bank officials or law enforcement.
Capitec warned that criminals are posing as representatives from well-known organisations, claiming victims’ IDs are linked to crimes. The scammers then “transfer” the call to a fake police officer who pressures them into sharing banking details.
Similarly, Discovery Bank reported cases where fraudsters pretended to be SAPS detectives, alleging victims’ IDs were used in fraudulent activities. They then demand money be transferred to a “safe SAPS account” under the guise of an investigation.
BASA also highlighted risks linked to physical bank cards, including skimming where criminals copy card details using hidden devices, fraudsters also use lost cards for unauthorised transactions and some scammers steal newly issued cards before delivery.
However, Basa also noted that introducing the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica) and the National Credit Act (NCA) has helped significantly reduce falsified application fraud.
“False application fraud has declined by over 90% from the 2007/2008 peak,” it added.
With scams growing more advanced, banks urge customers to question unexpected requests, never share personal details, and report fraud immediately.
“Criminals exploit fear and urgency, don’t fall for it,” warned BASA.
“Always double-check before acting.”
Stay Alert, Stay Safe
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