{"id":854046,"date":"2026-03-16T16:13:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=854046"},"modified":"2026-03-16T16:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:14:37","slug":"standard-bank-fraud-warning-for-south-africans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/854046\/standard-bank-fraud-warning-for-south-africans\/","title":{"rendered":"Standard Bank fraud warning for South Africans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Standard Bank has urged South African consumers to be extra cautious as the Easter holidays approach, given the sharp rise in multi-layered digital banking scams driven by AI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard Bank\u2019s Head of Fraud Operations, Client Experience and Risk Execution, Marius le Roux, said that fraudsters are no longer relying on a single trick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are now blending highly convincing AI-driven spoofing, phishing, and vishing to target consumers from multiple angles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These scams place many victims at risk of significant financial and emotional distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn recent cases, we\u2019ve seen fraudsters impersonate reputable individuals or bank staff with astonishing accuracy,” said Le Roux. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are seeing a rise in scams where AI\u2011generated voices, cloned emails, and deepfake content are used to mimic legitimate communication from the bank.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that new scams look and sound more real than ever, which allows fraudsters to manipulate victims into sharing their banking information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminals thus gain remote access to one’s banking profile or invest in entirely fabricated opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phishing remains one of the most common ways that criminals gain access to accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many victims share login credentials on fake websites or via malicious links and QR codes, as they are tricked by messages appearing to be bank communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s largest bank by assets under management said that these scams are increasingly sophisticated and often replicate the bank’s branding so well that even cautious consumers can fall victim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce fraudsters have the customer\u2019s username, password, or intercepted One\u2011Time-Pin, they can rapidly escalate their attack,\u201d noted Le Roux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A combination of scams<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Standard Bank\u2019s Head of Fraud Operations, Client Experience and Risk Execution, Marius le Roux. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

He added that fraudsters often combine phishing with other forms of attacks, such as spoofed phone calls that appear to come from the bank\u2019s real number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminals try to scare or convince the person into sharing sensitive information, such as banking details, passwords, PINs, or OTPs. Sometimes they also trick victims into making payments to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard Bank thus offered South African consumers a host of tips to help protect themselves from multi-layered scams: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Never click links, open attachments, or scan QR codes sent through email or text. Standard Bank would not send login, update details, redeem rewards, or order cards via email or text.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Never share your sensitive banking information. This includes your login credentials, card number and expiry date, CVV (the 3-digit code on the back of your card), OTPs, or ATM PIN<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Avoid disclosing personal financial details, such as information about your investments or where you hold other financial products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Frequently check your account statements. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          \u201cThe fraudster\u2019s goal is to gain access to the person\u2019s money or personal information by creating a sense of urgency or trust over the phone,” adds Le Roux. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          “It is therefore essential for customers to remain vigilant, verify any suspicious communications, and follow strong security practices to protect their personal and sensitive banking information.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Standard Bank has seen a rise in multi-layered digital banking scams, with AI making it harder to tell the difference between fact and fiction. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":842586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961],"tags":[499],"class_list":["post-854046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","tag-standard-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854046","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=854046"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854088,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854046\/revisions\/854088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}