How scammers exploit shopping season and how you can protect yourself

Pieter Loedolff and his wife Angelique thought they'd found a Black Friday bargain: a PlayStation 5 advertised on Facebook Marketplace for R3,850, marked down from R4,500. They drove to a house in Crossroads, Nyanga, to collect it. When they arrived, a woman directed them to wait. Then men appeared. One held Pieter at gunpoint. Another stabbed him repeatedly, demanding money. Angelique lay on the car hooter, screaming for help. They escaped, but without their money and deeply traumatized.

Half of all South Africans have been scammed at least once, with most incidents happening on social media, according to JustMoney's ‘Money & Me Survey’. More than 100,000 cyberattacks were recorded on banking accounts in 2024, costing South Africans around R1.8 billion. Digital banking fraud cases almost doubled from 31,612 in 2023 to 64,000 in 2024.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners South Africa confirms that fraud consistently spikes during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. Scammers exploit the urgency and excitement of shopping season.

When you're racing against time to grab deals or find the perfect gift, they count on you to skip the safety checks.

Here's how they operate and how you can stop them.

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