Banking fraud warning for South Africans

The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) warned that AI-driven scams, deepfakes, and social engineering are rapidly emerging as the biggest threats to South Africa’s banking sector.

SABRIC recently released its Annual Crime Statistics for 2024, which revealed a significant decline in financial crime losses

In 2023, South Africa recorded financial crime losses amounting to R3.3 billion. This figure dropped to R2.7 billion in 2024, representing a reduction of almost 18%.

SABRIC attributed this improvement to the strengthened prevention and detection measures introduced by the banking industry.

Despite this progress, criminals have adapted to changing conditions. Increasingly, fraudsters are exploiting artificial intelligence (AI) tools to carry out scams.

“Criminals are leveraging AI to create scams that appear more legitimate and convincing,” said Andre Wentzel, SABRIC CEO.

“From error-free phishing emails to AI-generated WhatsApp messages and even voice-cloned deepfakes, these tactics highlight the need for proactive and collaborative strategies to protect consumers.”

The 2024 statistics showed that digital banking fraud remained the most dominant channel, accounting for 65.3% of reported incidents.

The volume of cases almost doubled, rising from 31,612 in 2023 to 64,000 in 2024, while losses increased from R1 billion to over R1.4 billion.

Importantly, these incidents resulted from social engineering techniques that exploited human error, rather than technical compromises of banking platforms.

AI-driven crime emerged as a growing concern, with criminals deploying machine-generated content to deceive victims.

According to the report, criminals have leveraged emerging technologies, particularly generative AI, to craft more sophisticated fraud schemes.

This was evident in the unprecedented 86% increase in digital banking fraud incidents and a 74% rise in associated losses, totalling R1.89 billion.

Reports included phishing emails and WhatsApp messages crafted with AI, alongside early cases of voice-based deepfake scams impersonating individuals and banking officials.

A growing threat

SABRIC cautioned that, in 2025, real-time deepfake audio and video may become common tools in fraud schemes.

Other financial institutions have also highlighted AI fraud as a growing concern. In July, the JSE warned consumers about deepfake videos circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms.

These videos falsely featured JSE CEO Leila Fourie and director of information services Mark Randall, who were promoting fraudulent investment schemes.

Standard Bank also said it has seen an increase in spoofing scams in recent months. These scams involve fraudsters using AI-generated voices and emails to impersonate bank officials.

Apart from AI-driven scams, SABRIC said other crime categories also showed notable trends. ATM attacks declined by 18%, resulting in a 44% reduction in cash losses.

Associated robberies fell by 35%, with losses to clients down 64%, achievements attributed to the work of an industry-wide task team that has reduced ATM bombings.

Card-related fraud continued to be dominated by Card Not Present transactions, which comprised 85.6% of gross fraud losses on South African-issued credit cards. Lost and stolen cards accounted for 8.2%, while false applications contributed 2.9%.

Counterfeit card fraud also remained a concern, with 64.4% of counterfeit credit card fraud and 63.1% of counterfeit debit card fraud occurring domestically. Toll plazas and service stations were identified as hotspots for such incidents.

SABRIC reaffirmed that it is working with its members to strengthen consumer education and awareness campaigns, expand industry-wide collaboration, and invest in technology to safeguard the banking system.

“Protecting the financial sector requires constant vigilance and cooperation across banks, regulators, law enforcement, and civil society,” Wentzel said. “Together, we can stay ahead of an ever-changing criminal landscape.”