Criminals have a new target in South Africa
Cybersecurity experts are warning that criminals are taking advantage of the excitement around the Springbok rugby season by targeting fans with increasingly sophisticated online scams.
According to ESET Lead Cybersecurity Engineer Allan Juma, major sporting events are driving a surge in online shopping, takeaway orders, and home deliveries.
This has created ideal conditions for cybercriminals to trick consumers into handing over their banking details.
Fans are buying Springbok jerseys and memorabilia, ordering food for match days, and making everyday purchases online while following the winter sports calendar.
At the same time, more people are waiting for delivery notifications on their phones, often while distracted by live matches.
Juma said fraudsters have recognised this opportunity and are exploiting it by sending fake courier notifications via SMS, WhatsApp, and email.
“As South Africans followed the excitement of the Springboks’ Nations Championship campaign, online shopping and food deliveries surged,” he said.
“Fans ordered everything from team jerseys and memorabilia to takeaways and everyday essentials, creating the perfect opportunity for cybercriminals.”
He explained that scammers are increasingly impersonating legitimate courier companies by sending convincing delivery updates that request small payments for customs fees or delivery charges.
These scams have become particularly common as Chinese online retailers such as Shein and Temu have grown in popularity in South Africa.
Consumers have become accustomed to receiving genuine customs payment requests from logistics companies, making fraudulent messages much more believable.
Juma said scammers deliberately ask for relatively small amounts because consumers are less likely to question them.
“It’s easy to fall for these messages because they’re written well, they offer a plausible amount of detail, and they include the right kind of details,” he said.
“But when you complete the information, you are simply giving scammers all your details, which they then use for card-not-present fraud.”
He warned that fake messages have become increasingly difficult to distinguish from legitimate communications.
What to watch out for
Criminals now use cloned payment pages featuring official company logos, polished branding and professional language, while distributing the scams across both SMS and WhatsApp.
According to Juma, scammers carefully replicate the language and workflow of legitimate delivery companies, including shipment notifications, tracking updates and payment requests.
“Regardless of the channel these scammers use, the real damage is done when you go to the page they are redirecting you to,” he said.
“When you fill in your details, you hand them everything they need to carry out additional transactions on your card.” Email scams are becoming equally convincing.
Juma said genuine courier companies regularly send order confirmations, tracking information and delivery notices by email, making phishing emails much harder to detect.
“They are high quality, with minimal spelling mistakes and clear formatting and beautifully copied logos and signatures,” he said.
“It’s very hard to tell the real from the fake unless you look very closely at the email address itself and/or the link it is directing you to.”
He advised consumers to carefully inspect website addresses before entering any personal or financial information.
Suspicious URLs often contain random numbers or unusual characters, while fake websites often lack or have incomplete contact pages.
If there is any doubt, Juma recommends contacting the courier company or retailer directly via its official website or app rather than responding to the message.
He added that online shopping will continue to grow over the coming months as sporting events and promotional sales encourage more digital spending, creating even more opportunities for criminals.
“Always check the actual web address before entering any personal information. Check everything before you spend, and just pause for one moment before you click on any link in an SMS because awareness is one of the best ways to stay secure online,” Juma said.
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