{"id":833019,"date":"2025-07-28T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=833019"},"modified":"2025-07-25T14:20:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T12:20:23","slug":"fnb-fraud-warning-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/833019\/fnb-fraud-warning-2\/","title":{"rendered":"FNB fraud warning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FNB says it has seen a slight reduction in scams but warns that criminals are getting more sophisticated and using new advanced tools to commit fraud in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Global State of Scams report by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, victims\u00a0lost over $1 trillion to fraudulent activity in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perpretrators are increasingly using new technology, such as Generative AI, deepfakes, and botnets, on victims, allowing them to cast their nets even further and wider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the growth of scammer activity globally, FNB said that it experienced a slight drop in the number of reported scams in FY2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roshan Jelal, Head of Fraud at FNB Commercial, attributed this to the impact of the bank’s various prevention and detection strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the slight improvement does not mean customers can afford to get complacent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FNB warned that new instant payment methods and other developments in the banking space will likely lead to increased scam activity. With faster payments comes faster fraud, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith scammers continuing to evolve and leverage the latest technologies, scams will remain a key risk theme for the foreseeable future as they affect people and businesses regardless of age, income level, education, complexity, and background,\u201d said Jelal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo counter this, a multi-sector approach is required, involving collaboration with industry bodies, regulators, governments, and social media platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the latest scams, he said that online shopping, compromised business emails, and Ponzi\/investment schemes are the most prevalent across the banking industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Key scams to watch out for<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Roshan Jelal, Head of Fraud at FNB Commercial<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Jelal outlined what South African consumers should look out for when dealing with these scams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Online shopping scams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding online shopping scams, Jelal stated that customers need to stay informed about the common scams hitting them, as it helps identify red flags.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africans should only use reputable sites and thoroughly research any seller or service provider before purchasing or paying. Payments should not be made until one is sure it is a reputable supplier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goods and services advertised at massively discounted prices are often misleading – \u201cif it is too good to be true, it usually is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Business Email Compromise Scams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africans should be careful where they list their email addresses on public platforms, as scammers can harvest them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urgent and unplanned payment instructions should be treated with caution. \u201cIt is imperative to authenticate such a request directly with the person giving such a directive,\u201d said Jelal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any request for a change of banking details should be verified by contacting the requestor using details in historical records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ponzi Schemes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ponzi Schemes, South Africans should be cautious of opportunities that promise a high rate of return with little or no risk. All investments have some risk, especially short-term investments with high returns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africans should also look for investment schemes that are not registered and licensed by the relevant regulatory authority. All financial service providers must be registered with the FSCA.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investment opportunities that lack transparency, a clear business model, or are exceedingly difficult to understand should also be considered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever rush into investment opportunities; it is wise to take as much time as required to authenticate the entity and related parties.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other tips <\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a>
Christopher Boxall, Head of Card Transact, Industry and Fraud Detection at FNB<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Christopher Boxall, Head of Card Transact, Industry and Fraud Detection at FNB, also gave the following tips for South Africans to keep safe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Do not click on email or SMS links, especially if your phone has been stolen. Fraudsters often send smishing SMSes to encourage you to divulge your cloud credentials.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • If you are meeting someone you have been chatting to online, it\u2019s safer not to take all your banking channels with you. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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      • If you are called by someone claiming to be from the bank, don’t panic. Fraudsters rely on people acting hastily due to a sense of panic. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Pay careful attention to the wording of OTP requests. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Take note of the card and digital safety measures recommended by your financial institution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Keep software and devices up to date. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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              • Verify contact details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • Use safer and more convenient ways to pay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  FNB is just one of several financial service providers highlighting scams in South Africa. Nedbank and Standard Bank have highlighted increased tax scams, while WesBank has highlighted fake auctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Experts from FNB have highlighted the major scams making the rounds, with instant payment fraud expected to increase in the near future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":643559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961,4],"tags":[76,1799,499,6619],"class_list":["post-833019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","category-business-opinion","tag-fnb","tag-nedbank","tag-standard-bank","tag-wesbank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833019","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833019"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":833032,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833019\/revisions\/833032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}