Your client’s email is hacked. You make the payment. Who pays?
Practical steps for FSPs and their clients to spot, verify, and prevent fraud before a compromised email becomes a costly payment.
Cybercrime
How scammers turn your trust against you
Social engineering is driving digital banking losses as criminals use convincing impersonation, urgency, and technology to manipulate customers into giving them access to their money.
Scammers pose as bank officials in R21.5m heist
An urgent preservation order blocked the proceeds from being moved while investigators pursue a criminal case and forfeiture proceedings.
Banking complaints surge as fraudsters follow customers online
Complaints to the banking ombud jumped 25% in 2025, with phishing, account takeovers, and unauthorised transactions leading the way.
Cyber compliance is now a mandatory aspect of an FSP’s risk management
With data breaches costing firms tens of millions per incident, Joint Standard 2 forces financial institutions to strengthen governance, monitoring, and incident response.
South Africa ranks second in Africa’s Organised Crime Index 2025
The Index flags Africa as a testing ground for ransomware and DDoS attacks. High incident volumes and ‘ransomware-as-a-service’ models raise insurance, compliance, and continuity costs for businesses.
Cyber threats: awareness high, but cover still low
Only a fraction of South African consumers and businesses have cyber cover, leaving a significant gap between awareness and protection.
How to keep kids safe from online scammers this holiday season
Essential rules and insights to empower youngsters, ensuring they navigate the internet confidently and securely.
SCA: purchasers bear the risk of cyber-fraud when paying by EFT
If a buyer transfers funds after relying on altered invoice instructions, the contractual obligation remains unfulfilled until the seller’s nominated account is actually credited.
Landmark conviction under the Cybercrimes Act
A former employee of Ecentric Payment Systems receives an effective five-year term for orchestrating a multi-million-rand cyberattack.
SMEs ‘woefully unprepared’ to meet growing threat of cyberattacks
Cyber insurance and practical measures can shield a business from devastating data breaches and ransomware attacks.
Court orders scorned lover and his wife to pay R3.5m for revenge porn
A recent court ruling on a revenge porn case highlights the complex intersection of cybercrime, defamation, and privacy laws.
FIC report on how to identify and avoid holiday scams
The report highlights patterns, red flags, and practical steps to avoid holiday rental and travel scams.
Bank fraud: FICA doesn’t create a private law right to third-party damages
A couple who were victims of business email compromise argued that FICA imposed a private law duty on Nedbank to protect them from financial harm.
Debtor carries the risk, says High Court in ruling on cyber-fraud liability
The judgment highlights that confirming payment details is essential to avoid financial loss.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: small businesses must prioritise protection as cyberattacks surge
SMMEs serving critical infrastructure and global corporations, as well as those in regulated industries such as insurance, healthcare, banking, and credit monitoring, are particularly vulnerable.
Two-pot retirement system: a new playground for cybercriminals as FraudGPT fuels the threat
: Retirees, should be especially vigilant against three common scams: phishing and its more targeted version, spearfishing; deepfakes; and the Grandparent scam, which uses voice cloning.
