Warning to anyone looking to buy a used car in South Africa
The National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) is warning consumers about a rise in sophisticated digital scams, especially in the pre-owned vehicle market.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), there were 147,149 recorded cases of commercial crime in the country between April 2025 and March 2026.
This reflects a 2.5% overall increase in commercial and fraud-related offences. A 2026 study by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance found that 85% of participants in South Africa had encountered a scam in the past year.
NADA said that the situation is further complicated in the retail automotive sector by the rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The group explained that scammers are now using generative AI and digital manipulation software to create convincing vehicle listings, official-looking dealership and banking identities, and even clone voice and video messages.
NADA said that this makes online vehicle fraud more difficult to detect than ever before, which leaves consumers susceptible to getting scammed.
“Generative AI has made it easier for fraudsters,” said NADA Vice-Chairperson Thembinkosi Pantsi.
“In the past, poor grammar, blurry images, or inconsistent branding were easily noticeable red flags,” said Pantsi.
NADA warned that scammers are now using AI to quickly generate realistic advertisements, complete with convincing email and social media profiles.
It said that fraudsters claim they can secure a repossessed vehicle before it goes to a bank auction in exchange for an upfront holding fee.
According to the group, in South Africa, repossessed vehicles are strictly sold through accredited auction houses and never via private messaging apps.
The group also warned that scammers create a false sense of urgency, insisting that potential buyers make an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to “hold” the vehicle and prevent it from being sold to other alleged interested buyers.
While scammers may use AI to generate convincing photos or pre-recorded videos, they will consistently make excuses to avoid allowing an in-person viewing at a verifiable physical location.
The rise of digital banking scams in South Africa
Earlier this year, South Africans were warned about a rapidly growing and extremely dangerous form of digital fraud that targets individuals through their smartphones.
These scams are known as RAT attacks, which stands for Remote Access Trojan attacks.
They are particularly effective because many victims are unaware of them and don’t realise what is happening until it is too late.
RAT attacks involve malicious software that allows criminals to remotely control a person’s phone or computer.
This gives fraudsters direct access to the victim’s device, enabling them to operate banking apps in real time while the customer is still using the phone.
Bonolo Sebolai, Head of Fraud at TymeBank, said that these scams are among the most sophisticated affecting South African consumers.
“RAT scams are particularly dangerous and extremely sophisticated because they are designed to use the device at the same time as the customer without any clear signs of a device takeover,” he said.
He said that criminals often don’t steal login details; instead, they take control of the device.
In South Africa, RAT scams typically start with a phone call or message claiming to be from a bank’s fraud department, a mobile network provider, a courier company, an online retailer, or even a government department.
Victims are informed of an urgent problem with their account, device, or a pending delivery. They are then instructed to click a link or install an app, usually sent via WhatsApp or SMS, that supposedly resolves the issue.
Once this software is installed, the scammer can see everything happening on the screen.
This includes PINs and passwords as they are entered, one-time passwords sent by the bank, and even live banking transactions.
“To the bank, it can look like the customer is making the transaction themselves because the criminal is actually using the customer’s own device,” said Sebolai.
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