{"id":855917,"date":"2026-04-06T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=855917"},"modified":"2026-04-02T18:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T16:58:46","slug":"new-criminal-tactic-targeting-south-africans-with-banking-apps-on-their-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/mobile\/855917\/new-criminal-tactic-targeting-south-africans-with-banking-apps-on-their-phones\/","title":{"rendered":"New criminal tactic targeting South Africans with banking apps on their phones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Criminals are increasingly kidnapping South Africans and forcing them to hand over money through the banking apps on their phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security experts called these \u201cexpress kidnappings\u201d, which are incidents where victims are abducted during robberies or hijackings and then pressured or forced to unlock their phones, banking apps and accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said this form of kidnapping has become increasingly common in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases, the crime is opportunistic. Criminals spot a victim, seize the opportunity, and quickly move to drain available funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, some victims are selected more deliberately based on the perception that they may have access to significant amounts of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDepending on the group\u2019s sophistication, this can range from a couple of thousand rand to millions,\u201d the ISS noted. This tactic is part of a broader and deeply worrying rise in kidnapping-related crimes in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some experts have noted that many of these incidents occur during everyday activities such as commuting, shopping, or arriving home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the latest South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics, nearly 4,800 kidnapping cases were reported nationally between October and December last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This works out to roughly 53 kidnappings a day, with Gauteng accounting for more than half of those incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CrisisOnCall communication manager Ruan Vermaak said<\/a> the figures reflect a serious and growing threat, with many different types of people being targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that criminals often focus on people who appear to have well-paying jobs, drive desirable vehicles, or follow predictable daily patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some kidnappings are carefully orchestrated for financial gain, others begin as robberies or hijackings and escalate once criminals realise they may be able to access a victim\u2019s money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vermaak said many of these incidents happen in ordinary, everyday spaces where victims are vulnerable and distracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey will kidnap them while they are actually stopped at the boom gate or at the security complex or even in the shopping mall parking area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis happens especially while they are packing the vehicle with groceries in the back. There were a few cases like this reported at various shopping centres across Gauteng.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some instances, once criminals have emptied the victim\u2019s accounts, they simply abandon the person and steal the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of a broader trend of rising digital banking fraud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This new tactic is part of the rise in smartphone theft and digital banking fraud. Banks and fraud experts have repeatedly warned<\/a> that shopping malls are becoming prime hunting grounds for criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because of the number of people and vehicles at malls or centres, and because victims often carry phones that provide direct access to sensitive personal and financial information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) has also warned of an increase in criminals targeting smartphones to access banking apps and steal money from accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concern is echoed<\/a> by the National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO), which has reported a sharp jump in digital banking fraud complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cases surged by 73%, rising from 1,436 between January and May to 2,483 during the same period in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFO has also flagged growing risks involving virtual banking cards, after one victim reportedly lost R500,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerosha Maseti, Lead Ombud for Banking and Credit at the NFO, said virtual cards remain useful, but are not fraud-proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFraudsters can create virtual cards and then use the virtual card credentials to perform transactions once gaining access to a customer\u2019s digital banking profile after customers have shared OTPs or approved authentication prompts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Criminals are increasingly targeting South Africans with banking apps installed on their phones. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":855919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[25140,853],"class_list":["post-855917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobile","tag-institute-for-security-studies-iss","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855917","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=855917"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":855946,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855917\/revisions\/855946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}