Financial Crime World

Common Types of Financial Scams in South Africa

Scammers are constantly inventing new schemes to swindle unsuspecting individuals out of their hard-earned money. In order to protect yourself and your assets, it’s essential to be aware of the various types of financial scams that have been identified in South Africa.

1. Advance Fee/Deposit Scams

  • You may receive a message or phone call claiming you need to provide a payment such as a deposit, tax, or service fee for a transaction or service to be provided.
  • This could involve receiving a prize, inheritance, or gift that you are not aware of.
  • Be cautious of requests for insurance fees or administration fees for loan applications, which is common in loan scams.

2. Change of Banking Details Scams

  • A scammer contacts you claiming to work for your bank or another organisation and falsely leads you to believe that you must update your contact details, usernames, and passwords.
  • Be vigilant when receiving emails or phone calls from unknown sources asking for sensitive information.

3. Investments/Trading Scams

  • You may be encouraged to take up a fake investment opportunity by a fraudster using technical financial lingo and numbers to impress you.
  • Once you make the ‘investment’ payment, the scammer either demands additional payments to smooth the process or disappears entirely.

4. Malware & Phishing Scams

  • A link is emailed or SMSed to you, which you innocently click on, loading malware onto your device.
  • Scammers can now control your device, shut it down, or phish (or ‘fish for’) your data.

5. Money Mule Scams

  • The misuse of a bank account by the account holder to transfer or move illegal funds on someone else’s behalf.

6. Online Shopping Scams

  • A scammer creates a fake online store or imitates a popular online store you often shop at, advertising popular goods and services.
  • The scammer may also advertise specials via internet browsers or social media to fool you into visiting the fake online store.

7. Porting Cell Number/SIM Swops Scams

  • A fraudster pretends to be you and calls your cell phone service provider to ask for a new SIM card or to transfer your number (also called ‘porting’) to a new service provider.
  • Be cautious when receiving unknown calls asking for sensitive information.

8. Purchase Scams

  • You are offered fictitious goods and/or services at very attractive prices or big discounts.
  • Once you make the payment, the goods/services are never delivered, or the product advertised is not the product delivered.

9. Push Payment Fraud

  • You are persuaded to make a real-time (immediate) payment to a fraudster who impersonates a company employee or offers false investment or business services, generally via social media channels.
  • Be cautious when receiving unknown messages asking for payments.

10. Remote Access Scams

  • A scammer poses as a service provider known to you and requests ‘remote access’ to your device to make a security check or transaction.

11. Romance/Online Dating Scams

  • A scammer uses social media or dating applications to gain your trust and may even enter your life intimately, then uses this trust to extort funds by emotionally abusing and/or blackmailing you.
  • Be cautious when meeting people online and never send money to someone you don’t know.

12. Vishing Scams

  • A scammer contacts you by phone, pretending to be from government, a financial company, or other trusted institution, and asks you to provide or confirm personal information.
  • Be vigilant when receiving unknown calls asking for sensitive information.

13. Ancestry Scams

  • Scammers pretend to be high-profile businesspeople in the mining sector, invested in precious metals, gems, and other valuable commodities, arrange a ‘chance’ meet-up after profiling you in advance.
  • Be cautious when receiving unknown messages or calls asking for meetings.

Protecting Yourself from Financial Scams

Be pro-active and install our web browser plug-in to scan a website directly from search engine results. Stay informed about the latest scams and take steps to protect yourself from becoming a victim of financial crime.

Did You Know?

Scams are one of the fastest-growing fraud types around the world, with 15% of scam victims meeting their assailants face-to-face during the scam. SAFPS has recorded a 37% year-on-year growth in the volume of fraud incidents reported and a 15% increase in losses incurred in the first three quarters of 2023 compared to 2022.

Stay safe online and protect your financial security!