According to the report, South Africa recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud among the African countries analysed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report found that 3.0% of transactions involving South African consumers were flagged as suspected digital fraud during 2025, compared with a global average of 3.8%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The growing threat has translated into significant financial losses for ordinary customers and consumers in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TransUnion found that the median reported fraud loss among South Africans who said they had lost money to digital fraud over the past year was R11,055 per incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the second-highest figure in Africa, behind Kenya’s, although it was still below the global median loss of R27,879. The report noted that digital fraud in South Africa has become increasingly sophisticated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Criminals are increasingly targeting consumers through trusted platforms and services rather than suspicious websites or unfamiliar channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSouth African consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel attacks similar to those seen in mature digital economies,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It added that one-third (33%) of South Africans who reported losing money to digital fraud said the losses resulted from third-party seller scams operating on legitimate e-commerce platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis indicates that losses are not occurring because consumers transacted in a suspect or unsafe environment,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt shows fraudsters have successfully embedded themselves into environments that appeared credible, familiar and trusted.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings also show that cybercriminals are increasingly focusing on taking over existing accounts rather than creating new fraudulent profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa is one of the few markets where the highest rate of suspected digital fraud attempts happens at account login, with 3.0% of account login attempts being flagged as potentially fraudulent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is compared to 2.4% at account creation and 0.7% of financial transactions,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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