Fraudsters in South Africa were busy in 2024. However, their efforts were repeatedly foiled by the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS). Speaking at their annual summit last week, the SAFPS says it prevented fraudsters from stealing R5 billion last year. And this brings the total of foiled financial crimes to R30 billion for the last decade.

Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO for SAFPS believes more collaboration between organisations is needed to combat fraudsters in South Africa. He also highlights, the ‘hotspots’ for fraudsters in South Africa. Namely: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, which suffer from the highest instances of crime, otherwise known as the ‘Fraud Triangle’ of South Africa.

Nevertheless, the good news is Gauteng showed a modest 5% decrease in fraud incidents compared to 2023. This is, in part, attributed to the Yima Anti-Scams WarRoom, which acts as a one-stop portal for financial service providers to report scam incidents or suspicious activities.

Interestingly, more fraudsters in South Africa are impersonating their victims to gain access to accounts. This technique is up by 16%, says SAFPS, to 38% in 2024. Fascinatingly, men appear to be more popular targets, perhaps owing to the fact they’re less fastidious about their finances and personal security than women.