{"id":813095,"date":"2025-02-21T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T06:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=813095"},"modified":"2025-02-21T07:20:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T05:20:21","slug":"capitec-scam-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/813095\/capitec-scam-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitec scam warning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Capitec has flagged several scams targeting South Africans in 2025, including authorised push payment fraud, Ponzi schemes, investment, advance fees, and courier scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By customer numbers, Capitec is South Africa’s biggest bank, boasting a customer base of 23 million at the end of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Capitec\u2019s biggest successes is its strong performance in the digital banking sector, which has grown significantly in recent years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its latest financial results show that active banking app client volumes have increased by 21% year-on-year \u2013 from 10.3 million users to 12.4 million users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This extensive client base gives the bank a good idea of the scams targeting regular South Africans, which have become a notable concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitec told BusinessTech that the most prevalent scams targeting consumers include authorised push payment fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitec said push payment fraud, where victims are tricked into authorising payments to criminals, has become concerningly common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybercriminals often pose as trusted entities, such as banks or service providers, convincing individuals to transfer funds to fraudulent accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bank stressed that this\u00a0type\u00a0of\u00a0scam, along with the other popular scams currently making the rounds, is leading to significant financial losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitec further explained that investment scams are another common type of fraud, where fraudsters promise unusually high returns with minimal risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victims are enticed to invest in what seems like a lucrative opportunity, only to discover later that the scheme was fraudulent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitec also flagged the courier scam, in which people pay deposits or even full amounts for goods or services that never arrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Additionally, advance fee scams trick victims into paying upfront fees for things like loans, job offers, prizes, or inheritances that don\u2019t actually exist,” said the bank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A common variation of this is job scams, which often spread via popular communication platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scammers lure job seekers with offers of easy money for simple tasks but demand payment for things such as training, which never materialises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another growing concern is the rise of work-from-home (WFH) scams, where fraudsters convince victims to make multiple payments, supposedly to invest or trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One particularly popular version of this is known as ‘Pig Butchering,’ a tactic that involves prolonged deception to drain victims financially,” said Capitec. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of January of this year, the bank also sent an alert to its customers, warning them against scammers posing as ICASA or SAPS officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese scams typically involve fraudsters impersonating officials from ICASA, SAPS, or other reputable institutions to gain victims\u2019 trust,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey make false claims that the victim\u2019s identity has been misused in criminal activities and demand immediate verification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the bank, these \u201cpressure tactics\u201d are a common way to defraud customers, and scammers often claim that the victim\u2019s identity has been linked to fraudulent SIM card registrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), South Africa has seen a sharp rise in banking and push payment fraud, with incidents up by 40% from the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online banking platforms remain primary targets, with phishing and social engineering tactics on the rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to minimise the chances of being a victim<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Authorities and banks urge the public to be vigilant and adopt stronger security measures to combat this growing threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mitigate the risk of falling victim to these scams, Capitec advises consumers to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Be sceptical of offers that seem too good to be true, especially those promising quick or high returns. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Avoid paying upfront fees for jobs, loans, or prizes. Reputable companies will not ask for such payments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Research any investment opportunities thoroughly and ensure they are offered by authorised financial service providers. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Exercise caution with bargains on Facebook Marketplace and always meet in person in a safe, public location if exchanging goods. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Do not click on links in unsolicited messages asking for personal or banking information, and be wary of requests for personal details or payments from unknown sources. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Verify the source of calls or messages claiming to be from your bank or other trusted entities. Use official contact numbers and check your bank\u2019s verified social media accounts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              These interventions will help South Africans to limit their risks of falling victim to the numerous scams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Capitec has warned of several scams gaining momentum in South Africa in 2025. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":813244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961],"tags":[10335,1798,1334,853,21466],"class_list":["post-813095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","tag-banking","tag-capitec","tag-fraud","tag-south-africa","tag-the-south-african-banking-risk-information-centre-sabric"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813095"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":813510,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813095\/revisions\/813510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}