SABRIC Reveals How Fraudsters Use Banking Apps To Drain South Africans’ Accounts

South Africans lost approximately R2.4 billion to digital banking crime in 2025, as fraudsters increasingly relied on deception, fear and manipulation to steal money from unsuspecting customers. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) revealed that reported digital banking crime incidents continued to rise, highlighting the growing threat facing users of electronic banking services.

According to SABRIC, a total of 110,074 incidents were recorded during the year, with financial losses increasing by 29.2% from R1.86 billion in 2024. Banking applications accounted for the largest share of reported cases, representing approximately 89% of incidents and 70.5% of the total losses.

Customers reportedly lost around R1.7 billion through crimes involving banking applications. However, SABRIC clarified that these figures do not necessarily indicate that banks’ systems or mobile applications were hacked.

Instead, criminals frequently manipulate victims into revealing confidential information or authorising fraudulent transactions themselves.

Fraudsters often impersonate bank employees, police officers or representatives of trusted organisations. They may claim that suspicious activity has been detected on an account and pressure victims into taking immediate action.

The growing use of artificial intelligence has also made scams more convincing, allowing criminals to create realistic messages, images and voice recordings to deceive their targets.

Another major concern is the misuse of remote-access applications and screen-sharing tools. Criminals persuade victims to install such software under the pretence of providing technical support, protecting their accounts or investigating suspected fraud.

Once access is granted, fraudsters may obtain banking credentials, view sensitive information and facilitate unauthorised transfers. They can also add beneficiaries and move money before victims discover the fraud.

Stolen funds are sometimes transferred through multiple bank accounts, commonly known as mule accounts, making recovery more difficult. While some account holders knowingly assist criminals, others may be recruited without understanding the purpose of their involvement.

SABRIC has urged customers to remain vigilant when receiving unexpected calls or messages that create a sense of urgency. People should never disclose their banking PINs, passwords or one-time passwords, regardless of who claims to be contacting them.

Customers are also warned against transferring money into so-called safe accounts, clicking suspicious links or installing remote-access software at the request of strangers.

SABRIC advises the public to independently verify unusual banking instructions by contacting their financial institutions through official channels.

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