AI Scams Surge As South Africans Face New Wave Of Banking Fraud

South Africa’s banks may have tightened their grip on crime, but a new beast is emerging: artificial intelligence-driven scams that are becoming harder to spot and easier to fall for.

Crime Numbers Down, But Scams More Sophisticated

According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), financial crime losses fell by 18 percent in 2024, dropping from R3.3 billion to R2.7 billion. Fewer ATM bombings and armed robberies helped push the figures down, with industry-wide task teams credited for cracking down on physical crime.

But while old-school tactics are losing traction, fraudsters are shifting online and getting smarter. SABRIC reports that digital banking fraud nearly doubled in 2024, with more than 64,000 incidents recorded. These scams bled South Africans of over R1.4 billion.

How AI Is Changing The Game

What makes this wave different is the use of artificial intelligence. SABRIC CEO Andre Wentzel says criminals are leveraging AI to make scams “more legitimate and convincing.”

That means near-perfect phishing emails, WhatsApp messages that sound exactly like a friend or banker, and even AI voice cloning that mimics familiar voices to trick victims. Wentzel warned that by 2025, real-time audio and video deepfakes could become commonplace in scams.

This is no longer the clumsy typo-ridden email from a “prince” asking for your details. It’s technology that can look and sound frighteningly real.

Card Fraud Still Bites

Even with AI dominating headlines, traditional card-related fraud is far from gone. Card Not Present (CNP) transactions where criminals use stolen details for online purchases accounted for more than 85 percent of gross fraud losses on South African credit cards in 2024.

Counterfeit cards remain a serious issue, especially at toll plazas and service stations, where debit and credit cards are cloned.

Social Engineering: The Weak Link

Interestingly, SABRIC points out that most digital fraud doesn’t come from weaknesses in banking apps themselves. Instead, scammers prey on human error through social engineering. A convincing phone call or urgent email can be all it takes for someone to share sensitive details, unknowingly handing criminals the keys.

What Happens Next?

SABRIC says it is doubling down on consumer education and investing in smarter detection tools, while urging closer collaboration between banks, law enforcement, and regulators.

But as the financial crime landscape evolves, one thing is clear: while South Africans are safer at ATMs, the real danger may now be sitting in their inbox, chat app, or even on the other end of a phone call that sounds exactly like a loved one.

Source:IOL 

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