South Africa is one of the few markets with the highest rate of suspected digital fraud attempts. (Image source: 123RF) South Africa had the highest rate of suspected digital fraud among African countries analysed, with 3% of transactions involving consumers in South Africa being suspected of digital fraud during 2025 – slightly below the global…
As AI systems grow more capable, criminals are using them to deliver increasingly sophisticated scams. Yet even as attacks on systems grow in scope and frequency, the exploitation of human trust through social engineering remains the most common entry point to full system infiltration. “The most common attacks we see are social engineering attempts leveraging…
Discovery Bank has deployed its AI assistant across payments and servicing, to improve on-boarding and query resolution. Discovery Bank has expanded its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities across security, payments and customer service, while introducing new services across its digital banking platform. According to the digital bank, the updates form part of its next phase of…
Nairobi — Cybercrime networks are scaling rapidly across Africa, reusing infrastructure, digital platforms and cross-border tactics to outpace fragmented enforcement systems. Increasingly, these groups operate like coordinated enterprises, exploiting gaps between jurisdictions to expand fraud operations far beyond national borders. A recent crackdown under Operation Red Card 2.0 shows how that trend is being challenged….
Weak SIM registration processes continue to enable fraud. (Graphic: Nicola Mawson, with images from ITWeb, Pexels and Freepik) Amid growing calls for biometric registration of SIM cards, global bodies warn that such a move could exclude vulnerable citizens and create underground markets for fraudulently registered SIM cards. Mobile industry veteran Johan van Graan is calling…
Harold van Graan, chief revenue officer, Solid8 Technologies. Let’s kick off with an obvious question, namely: what is online fraud? Fraud is variously defined as a deception or misrepresentation; a perversion of truth to convince someone to part with something of value or surrender a legal right. Online fraud encompasses both financial fraud and identity…
Prembly, a Nigeria-based digital security and identity verification company, launched FraudLens, an open-source fraud intelligence platform designed to help financial institutions and digital businesses detect and prevent fraud. The platform aggregates fraud data from identity verification checks and reported incidents across businesses that use Prembly’s technology. FraudLens begins with data from Nigeria and aims to…
Orca Fraud has raised $2.35 million in seed funding to expand its real-time fraud monitoring platform across Africa and other emerging markets. The round was led by Norrsken22 with participation from OneDayYes, Enza Capital and CV VC Africa. Founded by Thalia Pillay and Carla Wilby, the company provides software that monitors financial transactions in real…
An appellate court in Hong Kong reversed fraud convictions against former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. It was a rare victory for the prominent pro-democracy activist, who is a fierce critic of Beijing and has faced a litany of legal battles. Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party who founded the now-defunct Apple…
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana. To enhance cross-government bulk purchasing systems designed to save costs, the state has allocated R285.3 million over the medium-term. This process will start with the modernisation of the government payroll system, according to insights from National Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review document. The high-level document is released in tandem with the 2026…
