Johannesburg, 18 August 2026
The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), a South African business physique that allows organisations to share fraud intelligence and strengthen fraud prevention, saved its Members greater than R7.44 billion in potential fraud losses throughout 2025, underscoring the rising worth of shared fraud intelligence as legal networks turn into more and more organised, technologically superior and troublesome to detect.
The figures, launched within the 2025 SAFPS Annual Report, signify a 47 per cent improve in fraud financial savings in contrast with the earlier 12 months. The variety of enquiries into the SAFPS fraud database reached 131 million through the 12 months, reflecting a 63 per cent improve in the usage of shared intelligence to establish fraudulent exercise earlier than losses happen.
Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of SAFPS, mentioned the outcomes display what is feasible when industries collaborate as an alternative of tackling fraud in isolation.
“Fraud is now not confined to particular person organisations or sectors. Criminals share data, adapt shortly and function throughout industries. Our response should be equally collaborative. Each confirmed fraud case contributed by our Members strengthens our collective capability to detect rising threats and stop losses earlier than they happen,” mentioned Van Schalkwyk.
Fraud Networks Are Combining A number of Assault Strategies
The report reveals that fraud has developed past remoted incidents. More and more, organised legal teams are combining a number of strategies into coordinated assaults that exploit each folks and techniques.
“As we speak’s fraudsters hardly ever depend on one method,” Van Schalkwyk mentioned. “They mix social engineering, id theft, expertise and doc forgery into extremely coordinated assaults. Understanding their modus operandi is essential if we need to keep forward of them.”
Doc fabrication stays one of the vital important fraud enablers. Solid id paperwork, altered financial institution statements, fraudulent payslips and fabricated supporting documentation proceed to underpin fraudulent purposes throughout monetary companies, insurance coverage and retail.
Alongside doc fabrication, vishing, or phone-based scams, has emerged as one of many fastest-growing threats and a number one assault vector inside digital channels. Criminals impersonate banks, insurers, authorities departments and different trusted establishments to control victims into revealing confidential data or approving fraudulent transactions.
The report additionally identifies a robust operational hyperlink between vishing and cash mule exercise. In lots of instances, stolen funds are transferred into mule accounts which might be opened weeks upfront and emptied inside hours, making restoration more and more troublesome.
The systematic use of mule account networks throughout a minimum of three main fraud classes signifies the existence of a coordinated money-laundering ecosystem, wherein mule accounts function conduits for receiving and distributing illicit or stolen funds.
Regional Fraud Developments Reveal South African Hotspots
Primarily based on the 2025 knowledge, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal remained the primary centres for fraudulent exercise.
Doc forgery, id misuse, cash mule exercise and vishing had been geographically concentrated in Gauteng.
KwaZulu-Natal emerged because the dominant hotspot for funeral and long-term insurance coverage declare fraud, whereas additionally recording a prevalence of financial institution assertion fraud and excessive ranges of vishing-related exercise.
The regional focus highlights the significance of sharing fraud intelligence throughout sectors and jurisdictions as criminals more and more function by networks quite than remoted schemes.
Shared Fraud Intelligence Strengthens Monetary Crime Prevention
The SAFPS says collaboration between monetary establishments, companies, regulators and different stakeholders is central to stopping fraud earlier than monetary losses happen.
“In the identical approach that fraudsters intentionally goal organisations and shoppers, we have to be aware and strategic in our efforts to frustrate their makes an attempt. By working with our Members, strategic companions and regulators, we will prolong our attain and amplify our impression,” Van Schalkwyk mentioned.
“An information-driven method proactively mitigates fraud dangers and makes the monetary panorama a lot much less hospitable for fraudsters. Many minds, one mission: united towards fraud.”
This method is mirrored within the organisation’s new tagline, “Stopping fraud by shared intelligence.”
The SAFPS’s work extends throughout Southern Africa, supporting collaboration amongst its Members. The fraud data contained inside its database comes immediately from Member organisations that examine instances, comply with due course of and submit confirmed fraud data for the good thing about the broader neighborhood.
This shared intelligence mannequin permits Members throughout completely different sectors to establish repeat offenders, recognise rising legal developments and strengthen fraud prevention earlier than monetary losses happen.
“Our database is just as highly effective because the collaboration behind it,” Van Schalkwyk mentioned. “Each Member that contributes confirmed fraud data strengthens the safety obtainable to each different Member. That shared intelligence is what makes our mannequin so efficient.”
Breaking the Silence Round Scams
Past expertise and knowledge, SAFPS believes that open dialog is likely one of the strongest instruments for stopping monetary fraud.
Too usually, scams are mentioned solely after losses have occurred. But understanding legal behaviour, recognising frequent rip-off methods and overtly sharing details about rising threats could make it considerably more durable for fraudsters to succeed.
“We will stop different folks from changing into victims of scams if we discuss it,” Van Schalkwyk mentioned. “Breaking the silence round scams, sharing strategies used and educating folks on how criminals function are important steps in the direction of decreasing monetary crime throughout Southern Africa. Each dialog strengthens our collective resilience.”
As organised fraud continues to evolve, the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service stays targeted on increasing collaboration, strengthening fraud intelligence sharing and offering its Members with the instruments and knowledge wanted to remain forward of more and more subtle legal networks.
Supply
Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), 2025 Annual Report
