🇿🇦 English, 7 October 2026, social engineering
South Africans Lost R2.4 Billion to Digital Banking Crime in 2025
Most of the losses were due to social engineering, where criminals persuade people to approve payments or hand over access themselves.
South Africans lost R2.4 billion to digital banking crime in 2025, with most of the losses attributed to social engineering. Criminals use tactics such as inventing emergencies to persuade people to pay before checking. They also take over genuine WhatsApp accounts by convincing the owner to share the six-digit registration code.
The attackers gather details from social media, public profiles, and conversations to make their messages more convincing. Integrity360 advises setting a family rule to confirm any request for money by making a call to a trusted number. A code word can also be used to verify the request.
Protecting one’s own account takes two minutes, and WhatsApp’s two-step verification should be enabled to add an extra layer of security. If the account has been compromised, warn contacts through another channel and tell the family about any attempt.