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Person using a cellphone
South African consumers have lost around R2 billion to online scams over the past year. This is according to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), which says that the number could be much higher due to some cases not being reported.
Insurance Company, iTOO Special Risks is warning consumers to be extra cautious when shopping online.
Cyber Insurance expert, Lwando Cwane says they have noticed a significant uptick in such crimes occurring during the festive season, as people look to get last minute shopping done.
“Festive season is always one of those seasons we look out for. People are looking for deals, people are trying to save money, and unfortunately, this is also the time where the scammers are out in full force to try and, lure you away from the reputable sites onto their fake sites in order to spend your money in a fraudulent way. So, we always see scams via your SMSes where you’re getting SMSes saying there’s a deal at Makro, there’s a deal at Takealot, or there’s a deal at at any other brand that you may be shopping at. You’re getting email notifications that are targeted at some of your searches that you may have done over the past few weeks or few months.”
#PODCAST South African consumers lose R2-billion to online scams as festive season fraud surges #sabcnews @salpatel786 #sabcnews
— SABC News Radio (@SABCNews_Radio) December 25, 2025
