Credit fraud used to mean a stolen card. In 2026 it is just as likely to mean a debt you never took out, a store account opened in your name, or a loan approved with a one-time PIN you were tricked into reading out over the phone. The latest figures show the problem growing on almost every front, and with Black Friday and the festive season just weeks away, now is the time to lock things down.
The numbers at a glance
Taken together, these figures tell a clear story. Criminals are spending less effort on physical cards and ATMs, and far more on people: their phones, their personal details and their trust.
Fraud has moved beyond the banks
The most telling statistic for ordinary borrowers comes from the National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO). Its non-bank credit division, which deals with retailers, furniture stores, cellphone providers and personal loan companies, has seen fraud complaints jump by almost half in a single year.
The NFO’s lead ombud for banking and credit has noted that fraudsters are now going after the information, credentials and trust behind a transaction rather than the card itself. That means a clothing account, a cellphone contract or a small personal loan can be just as attractive to a criminal as a bank account, and often less closely watched by the victim.
The common methods include:
- Card-not-present fraud: stolen card details used for online or telephone purchases.
- Phishing and smishing: fake emails and SMSes designed to capture login details.
- Vishing: phone calls from someone posing as your bank, a retailer or a fraud department.
- Identity theft: your ID number and personal details used to open new credit.
- Fraudulent loan applications: credit taken out in your name, sometimes backed by forged payslips or altered bank statements.
- OTP misuse: a one-time PIN intercepted or talked out of you, then used to approve a transaction.
The hard truth about OTPs
One case published by the NFO shows how unforgiving the system can be. A consumer received a call from someone claiming to work for a retailer, warning of suspicious activity on their store account. Shortly afterwards, an online purchase of R18 488.80 went through on that account, approved with a one-time PIN sent to the consumer’s own phone.
The ombud accepted that the consumer was a genuine victim who believed they were speaking to the retailer. But the credit provider’s systems had not failed, there was no SIM swap, and the transaction had been authorised with the consumer’s own credentials. The debt stood.
That is the uncomfortable lesson. Being a victim does not automatically mean you are off the hook. If a fraudster gets you to approve something yourself, the law may treat it as your transaction.
Why October 2026 matters
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and it lands just before one of the busiest stretches of the year for scammers in South Africa. Over the next ten weeks, watch out for:
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring a flood of genuine deal emails, which makes fake ones far harder to spot. Card-not-present fraud thrives when people are shopping online in a hurry.
- Courier and delivery scams spike as parcels pile up, with SMSes asking you to “confirm” an address or pay a small redelivery fee.
- Bonus season and festive loans make January cash crunches a target. Fake lenders advertise “no credit check” loans that ask for an upfront fee and then vanish.
- AI-generated voices and messages are making impersonation calls more convincing than ever. A caller who sounds exactly like a bank agent, or even a family member, is no longer proof of anything.
SABRIC’s figures show that most digital banking fraud now starts outside the banking app, on a phone call, a WhatsApp chat or a fake website. The criminal then talks the victim through adding a beneficiary, approving a payment or installing a “support” app that gives remote access to the phone.
Set up your defences before the call comes
What a scammer can take depends largely on what you have set up beforehand. A few minutes now can limit the damage later.
- Keep only spending money in your everyday account. Move savings into an account with a notice period, which gives you and your bank time to stop a fraudulent transfer.
- Use virtual cards for online shopping. Most big banks offer them free. Create one per store and delete it if that store is ever breached.
- Lower your daily transfer and card limits. Raise them temporarily only when you need to.
- Switch on remote lock and wipe on your phone now. These features only help if they are active before the phone is lost or stolen.
- Agree a family safe word. Pick something that has never appeared online, so a cloned voice cannot fake it.
- Check your credit report. Look for accounts or enquiries you do not recognise, and consider registering for protection with the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) if your ID has ever been lost or stolen.
If it happens to you
- Hang up and stop all contact. Do not share anything further.
- Call your bank or credit provider immediately on a number you already have, never one the caller gave you.
- Dispute the transaction in writing and get a reference number.
- Keep a fraud diary. Note dates, times, names and reference numbers, and save SMSes, emails and screenshots.
- Do not ignore the account. Unpaid disputed debts can keep growing and lead to collections and credit listings while the matter is unresolved.
- Escalate to the NFO if the provider does not resolve it. The service is free.
The bottom line
The growth in credit fraud is not just a banking problem any more. It reaches store cards, cellphone contracts and personal loans, and it increasingly relies on persuading you to do the fraudster’s work for them. The best protection is a simple rule: no genuine bank, retailer or lender will ever ask you to read out an OTP, approve a payment you did not start, or pay a fee before a loan is paid out. If anyone does, it is a scam.
For more on staying safe with credit, read our Credit Wisdom guide, and see Online Loan Education for how to tell the main loan types apart.
Sources: National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (via FA News); SABRIC Annual Crime Statistics 2025; IOL, 20 October 2026; FA News, 21 October 2026; SAFPS 2025 Annual Report via IT-Online.