Digital payment solutions are becoming increasingly agile and capable, and in line with the instant expectations of South African consumers. Unfortunately, so is fraud.
In SA, the rise of instant and always-on payment channels has changed how people shop, but also how criminals operate. According to Ursula Pearson-Williams, head of fraud intelligence at PayInc, the country is seeing a move from opportunistic crime to highly organised, multi-layered schemes that blend scams, fraud and money laundering into a single attack. An attack supported by instant payments and spur-of-the-moment decisions.
“In South Africa, the introduction of instant payments has really evolved the sophistication and evolution of fraud,” she says. “In a single event, you can actually experience a scam, fraud and money laundering all in one value chain.” The result is a more complex and aggressive threat environment, where syndicates research their targets and use detailed personal information to build trust.
Pearson-Williams believes consumers and organisations need to assume the worst from the start. “I think the assumption we need to make is that all our information that has been compromised is sitting on the dark web and is ready to be sold,” she explains. It is not just stolen data that’s traded, but ready-made kits that allow even inexperienced actors to become fully fledged fraudsters.
One of the most disturbing examples is so-called pig butchering, a romance scam amplified by AI and deepfakes. Fraudsters build long-term online relationships, often using AI-generated images and carefully tailored profiles. “Ultimately, they’re luring you into a relationship to be able to extradite money from you,” says Pearson-Williams. Victims range from older people to school-age children, with some cases ending in blackmail and even suicide.
Authorised push payment (APP) scams are another concern. Here, victims are manipulated into sending money to the criminals and pay them willingly. “Push payment fraud is also very difficult to detect,” she notes. “Because the customer willingly confirms the transaction, even alerts raised by bank systems may not stop the payment. Social engineering, urgency and emotional pressure combine to override instinct and judgment.”
Black Friday and Cyber Monday create ideal conditions for these tactics. Consumers are tired, rushed and bombarded with once-off offers. There is a surge in fake websites and advance-fee scams, where consumers make a payment and the goods never arrive at the door. Many spoofed sites clone real brands, making small mistakes easy to miss.
There are, however, practical checks. She advises consumers to read the site carefully: “Is it professional? Is it written in a way that makes consumer-friendly sense?” The contact page is another red flag – a legitimate business should have a physical address and working phone numbers, not just a single e-mail address. The URL should match the market and independent review sites can offer an early warning.
Beyond individual vigilance, SA is building stronger collective defences. PayInc and partners have designed and agreed on the most common fraud typologies in the market and have created a standard implemented across institutions. The goal is to move from reactive response to proactive detection.
For Pearson-Williams, the most important message for International Fraud Week, currently under way, is simple. “Breathe,” she says. “When you’re making a payment, when you’re online, when you’re standing at the ATM or when you’re speaking on the phone, just take a moment to ask the question, does this sound or look right? At no point provide your ID information or your accounting details to anybody who’s phoning you. No banking institution will ask you for that information if they have phoned you upfront.”
By combining calm, basic checks at the frontline with stronger collaboration across banks, regulators and sectors, SA can keep instant payments innovative and consumers safer, even in peak shopping season.
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