South Africans being scammed by criminals who are already in prison

South African prisons and pre-trial detention centres are increasingly being used as simple scam centres, similar to how they are used in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Colombia. 

Criminals, who in some cases have already been prosecuted and imprisoned, create small-scale scam operations from these facilities to get access to the personal information of ‘free’ citizens. 

This personal information can then be used by criminals outside the prison system to access an individual’s bank accounts. 

More commonly, these prison scam centres are quite basic and cannot draw on tools that more sophisticated efforts use, but they still account for billions of rands in fraud. 

This was revealed by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime in a report titled A World of Deceit. In the report, the authors paint a damning picture of how widespread organised crime is in South Africa. 

While much focus is on ‘grand’ organised crime involving high-level government officials, the police, and high-profile criminals, much of it occurs at a smaller scale in South Africa. 

Although high-level organised crime is extremely damaging to the country’s reputation, the safety of citizens, and economic activity, small-scale scams and fraudulent activity are just as damaging, costing South Africa billions of rands a year. 

In a segment focusing on scams, the report outlined three types of scam centres operating in South Africa. These range from prison or pre-trial detention centres, to apartments or houses, and up to large-scale office parks and compounds. 

As scams become more sophisticated, they tend to need high-tech tools, organised space, and substantial workforces. They also need maximum control of their workforce. 

These types of scams typically need high-level protection and potentially air cover from powerful police officers or government officials, given their size and the scale of their earnings. 

They also tend to be highly successful for a short period of time due to increased scrutiny from their size, both in terms of earnings and physical office space. 

As a result, they are not that popular among criminals, with many preferring smaller-scale operations that can fly under the radar. As it turns out, South African prisons suit this requirement perfectly. 

Prison scam centres

The report noted that prisons and pre-trial detention centres are increasingly used in South Africa for low-level scams or as ways to continue the ‘game’ while on the inside. 

While such centres are well-developed and common in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Colombia, they have become increasingly popular in South Africa as prisons become overcrowded and state capacity is eroded.

The report noted that South Africa is a particular hotbed for these types of scam centres, given prisoners’ access to cell phones and basic technology through compliant prison guards. 

“For those in charge of such operations, the benefits are obvious – a captive workforce often dependent on the hierarchy for their quality of life and strong protection against prosecution,” the report read. 

The report noted that in some cases, the prison guards themselves are the head of the criminal enterprise and use prisoners as their workforce. 

“But such operations are also limited. Scammers may have to rely on simple phone calls using supplied numbers, without being able to draw upon the arsenal of tech tools more sophisticated efforts use,” it read. 

These operations are also limited by the poor skillset offered by prisoners, with specialised skills that would be available freely outside being unavailable. 

This includes bilingual communication, emotional manipulation, or the ability to mask an individual’s real voice and quickly access bank accounts. 

Scam centres in prisons have to make do with the skills at their disposal, making their success rates lower than those of more sophisticated operations. 

This is often made up for by the low cost of operation and the security from prosecution. 

Although prisoners can be highly effective scammers, they are often limited in scope to their home country as they do not have the language skills or tech to target victims abroad. 

While the operations in South African prisons are relatively unsophisticated, scam centres in Colombian prisons are vertically-integrated operations that combine scammers with networks of mule accounts and payment collectors outside. 

In Colombia, prisoners often resort to scams at the behest of prison guards and officials who extort individuals for payments to access food, beds, and security.