What we know so far
South Africa recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud among all African countries analysed in a major new industry study, with 3% of transactions involving South African consumers flagged as potentially fraudulent during 2025. The finding positions the country at the sharp end of the continent’s fraud crisis and comes with a clear warning: the threat is growing more sophisticated, not less.
These are among the findings in the TransUnion H1 2026 Update: Top Fraud Trends report, which shows that South Africa’s digital fraud landscape has become more complex, with generative AI likely accelerating the scale and sophistication of criminal activity. This has enabled fraudsters to target both consumers and businesses with greater precision and speed.
TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on a global survey of 12,730 consumers in 18 countries and regions from 20 November to 9 December 2025, and intelligence from its fraud prevention solutions. The report draws on billions of transactions from over 40,000 websites and apps across its global intelligence network.
Why it matters
South Africa’s digital fraud rate of 3% in 2025, while slightly below the global average of 3.8%, was the highest recorded among the African countries covered by the study. The countries analysed on the continent include Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia.
The R11,055 median fraud loss figure carries direct consequence for millions of South Africans already under financial strain. In 2025, the median reported fraud loss among South African consumers who said they had lost funds to digital fraud in the previous year was R11,055, the second highest in Africa after Kenya, and well below the global median of R27,879.
South African consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel attacks similar to those seen in mature digital economies. As a result, digital fraud has shifted deeper into the consumer journey. This shift reflects a maturing fraud ecosystem that can no longer be addressed through basic password protection or phishing awareness alone.
Key details and figures
The report’s most striking finding for South Africa concerns where fraud is being attempted. South Africa is one of the few markets where the highest rate of suspected digital fraud attempts happen at account login, with 3% of account login attempts being flagged as potentially fraudulent, compared to 2.4% at account creation and 0.7% of financial transactions. This trend suggests that attackers are increasingly trying to compromise existing accounts, in contrast to other countries globally where new account creation is a key focus for fraudsters.
Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa, explained the significance of this pattern. “This inversion tells a powerful story that criminals in South Africa are now targeting access using compromised credentials, SIM-swap-enabled entry and social engineering to take over existing accounts,” Reddy said. “This means that vendors and financial institutions need to expand their fraud prevention strategies beyond the new customer onboarding phase, continuing to implement verification throughout the consumer lifecycle.”
One third of South African consumers who said they lost money from digital fraud in the last year reported those losses stemmed from third-party seller scams on legitimate e-commerce platforms. The results indicate that losses are not occurring because consumers transacted in a suspect or unsafe environment, but because fraudsters successfully embedded themselves into environments that appeared credible, familiar, and trusted.
Reddy characterised the underlying dynamic directly. “This signals a market where criminals are exploiting established trust, active accounts and verified digital relationships, and is a clear break from global fraud patterns typically dominated by phishing and vishing. In South Africa, fraudsters succeed where trust is already established, particularly inside mainstream digital platforms where consumers reasonably expect safety and legitimacy,” she said.
The sector data paints a stark picture of where fraud pressure is most intense. Government services were the most targeted sector with a suspected fraud rate of 12.5%. According to IT-Online’s detailed reporting of the same TransUnion data, the volume of suspected digital fraud attempts against government services increased 46% from 2024 to 2025. Online gaming followed at 11.5%, up 124% by volume. Insurance came third at 7.8%, up 32%. Financial services recorded a rate of 5.3%, up 16%.
Reddy attributed the government sector’s high fraud rate to the expansion of public digital services. “Digitalisation has improved access to public services, but it has also created new risks for fraud. Fraudsters are leveraging official government branding and service-related messages to impersonate the state and deceive citizens,” she said.
Social engineering was the second most reported cause of actual loss at 26%, followed by account takeover and stolen credit card fraud at 24% each, money mule schemes at 23%, and identity theft at 22%, according to the TransUnion consumer survey data reported by IT-Online.
The overall suspected digital fraud rate for transactions in South Africa declined from 4.3% in 2024 to 3.0% in 2025. However, the report notes this decrease does not necessarily indicate reduced criminal activity; rather, it may reflect a shift toward AI-enabled tactics designed to maximise return on investment.
The report also found that 85% of South African respondents said confidence that their personal data is secure was a very important feature when choosing whom to transact with online, followed by an easy payment process at 80% and ease of filling out forms at 72%.
What happens next
The TransUnion findings add to an already substantial body of evidence that South Africa’s cybersecurity posture requires urgent, sustained investment. The CSIR’s own national survey, released in 2024, found that 88% of South African organisations reported at least one security breach, and 63% of cybersecurity roles were partially or fully unfilled.
Reddy issued a direct call to action for businesses. “South Africa has entered an advanced fraud phase where criminals exploit trust, operate across channels and target established digital relationships rather than weak entry points. Fraud is increasingly occurring inside legitimate marketplaces and impersonated public services, while risk remains consistently highest at login.”
“For businesses, the call to action is clear: fraud strategies must extend beyond compliance and onboarding controls to actively protect trust across the entire digital journey. Organisations that invest in adaptive authentication, identity intelligence and visible security at moments of access will be best positioned to reduce fraud, preserve customer confidence and differentiate their brands in South Africa’s digital economy,” she added.
For consumers, the practical implications are immediate. The dominant fraud vector is no longer the obvious phishing email or unknown website: it is the trusted platform, the familiar login screen, and the seller who appears on a reputable marketplace. TransUnion’s recommendation is that consumers regularly review their credit reports and treat any unsolicited contact, even from apparently legitimate sources, as a potential fraud attempt.
The H1 2026 Update to the Top Fraud Trends report covers South Africa alongside Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zambia.
