More than a tenth of South African respondents to a TransUnion survey said they had fallen to victim to cyber fraud, with more than half coming under attack by criminals in the second quarter of this year.
TransUnion’s second quarter Consumer Pulse Study surveyed 922 adults between 5 and 25 May.
It notes that gift card or money transfer scams were the most common fraud mode − with a third of respondents having dealt with scammers who tried to trick them into sending them money by buying and then transferring gift cards.
Fraudsters using phishing, smishing via text, as well as third-party seller scams using deceptive techniques when selling online targeted slightly less than a third each of the respondents.
However, the report noted that consumers are responding to cyber security issues, with more than 50% indicating they had changed their passwords in response to security threats.
Leading the charge in terms of taking action to ensure they are secure online are those between the ages of 18 and 28 (Gen Z) and Millennials (29 to 44) – with both groups being more likely to be protective in the e-commerce environment. This, TransUnion says, is likely the “result of both their greater exposure to digital platforms and higher awareness of evolving scam tactics”.
In addition, more than a third checked their credit reports to ensure they had not fallen victim to ID theft. A quarter of respondents added multi-factor authentication.
In response to data breaches, 44% of affected consumers changed their passwords, while others took steps like closing accounts (29%), cancelling payment methods (26%) or checking for unauthorised activity (36%). However, only 12% signed up for identity monitoring, suggesting a gap in long-term, protective behaviour, it says.
However, 21% of respondents said they took no action at all, often citing uncertainty about what to do.
A 2024 research paper published in the International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science found that “e-commerce users perceive e-commerce systems as secure and are different from non-users of e-commerce systems, who perceive them as not secure and untrustworthy”.
“Consumers are trying to keep pace, but the threat landscape is evolving quickly… What we need now is a national conversation, one that gives all South Africans the knowledge and resources to protect their identities in a digital-first world,” says Ayesha Hatea, director of research and consulting at TransUnion.
Moreover, in response to the need to be more conservative when it comes to spending in an environment of inflationary pressures, high interest rates and job market uncertainty, almost a third of respondents indicated they will shop online less over the next three months.
Overall, almost a quarter have cancelled digital services, which is 2% more than the previous three months. However, 22% indicate they will expand their digital services − a one percentage point increase from the first quarter.
World Wide Worx’s latest Online Retail report notes that online retail in 2024 gained 29% year-on-year. The report – developed in conjunction with Mastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Afrika – indicated the sector would break the R100 billion mark by 2026.
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