South African consumers reported money or gift card scams as the most experienced fraud type from February to May – reported by 33% of surveyed consumers.
This is according to a newly released TransUnion report, titled “H2 2025 update: Top fraud trends”. It blends proprietary data from TransUnion’s global network of over 40 000 websites and apps with a commissioned business and consumer survey.
The online survey was conducted on 5 May to 25 May in Botswana (251 respondents), Brazil (949), Canada (982), Chile (888), Colombia (933), Dominican Republic (601), Guatemala (478), Hong Kong (968), India (999), Kenya (433), Namibia (291), the Philippines (943), Rwanda (345), South Africa (922), Spain (957), the UK (1 000), the US (2 998) and Zambia (325), by TransUnion in partnership with third-party research provider Dynata.
According to the survey, the rate of suspected digital fraud for transactions where the consumer was in SA was down from 4.3% in H1 2022, to 2.1% for H1 2025, indicating improved fraud prevention and maturing digital controls.
Despite this, consumers’ digital identities remain at risk – with account login fraud and money or gift card scams being on the rise, it says.
SA recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud at the account login stage, with 2.6% of these transactions flagged as suspicious. This aligns with the global trend of fraud shifting to account takeover attempts which typically occur at login.
Globally, 4.3% of account login transactions in H1 2025 were suspected of digital fraud, the report notes.
Account login fraud is a type of cyber crime where criminals gain unauthorised access to a user’s online account − such as banking, e-mail, social media, or e-commerce − by stealing their login credentials.
Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management, TransUnion Africa, comments: “South Africa stands at a critical juncture in its digital evolution where opportunity and vulnerability intersect.
“As account takeover fraud surges, businesses can no longer afford solely reactive defences. The growing sophistication of fraudsters demands a proactive investment in layered security and identity intelligence. In today’s threat landscape, protecting customer accounts is not just a priority, it’s a business imperative."
According to analysis of TransUnion’s customers in its global intelligence network, digital account takeover volumes worldwide grew 21% year-over-year from H1 2024, to H1 2025, signalling a rapid escalation.
According to the report, there’s an entire stolen consumer identity industry operating in the dark corners of the web feeding fraud schemes: data breaches, high-pressure phone scams and consumer cons, among other fraud types, to acquire identity data. Criminals use stolen or harvested data to assemble identities for exploitation.
Consumers in five of the six African countries surveyed reported money or gift card scams as the most experienced fraud type. In SA, money or gift card scams was the most common fraud type – reported by 33% of those who said they were targeted with e-mail, online, phone call or text messaging fraud from February to May.
For the money or gift card scams, a typical modus operandi involves the scammer pretending to be someone the victim trusts, and claims there is an urgent situation. They then instruct the victim to buy gift cards or send them money.
The next most frequently reported scams in SA are phishing (31%), smishing (30%) and vishing (29%), with these three designed to deceive individuals into giving up their valuable personal or financial information.
Among industries analysed globally, the video gaming sector recorded the highest percentage of digital fraud attempts in the first half of 2025, reaching 13.5%. This represents a 28% increase compared to the same period in 2024, underscoring the growing vulnerability of this sector to fraudulent activity.
The insurance sector experienced the largest increase in the volume of digital fraud incidents among industries analysed, with a 154% uptick.
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