Capitec Warns of Rising Fake Fraud Alert Scam Targeting SA Bank Customers

• Capitec’s Slam the Scam has flagged a rising scam where fake fraud alerts are being used to target bank customers in South Africa
• Fraudsters are posing as bank staff and pushing victims into quickly approving actions on their banking apps
• A mix of common tricks are being used to catch people off guard

A Capitec-backed anti-fraud initiative has warned South Africans about a growing banking scam targeting customers through fake fraud alerts.

The warning came from Capitec's Slam the Scam campaign, which said criminals are sending SMSes and emails claiming suspicious transactions have been detected on customers' accounts. MyBroadBand reported on 27 June 2026, that victims are then instructed to call a number or reply to the message.

According to Slam the Scam, once customers make contact, scammers pretend to be members of Capitec's fraud department and pressure victims into acting quickly by saying their accounts have been compromised. Customers may then be instructed to log into their banking app and approve certain actions. However, those approvals can allow fraudsters to move money out of the account.

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The initiative warned that once funds are transferred, recovering the money can be difficult. Capitec stressed that it will never contact customers and ask them to move money, approve app actions, or transfer funds for security reasons.

The bank launched Slam the Scam to educate South Africans about fraud tactics and online scams.

Other types of banking scams

Scammers use different tricks to fool people into giving away money or personal banking information. According to Standard Bank, these are the common ones.

Phishing – Fake bank emails. Scammers send fake emails with links that look real to steal banking details and access accounts.

Vishing – Scam calls. Fraudsters call pretending to be from a bank and pressure people into sharing passwords, PINs or OTPs.

Smishing – Fake SMS tricks. Scam text messages contain harmful links that can steal information from your device.

ATM card swapping - Criminals distract people at ATMs, steal their cards and secretly watch them enter their PINs.

Banking details scam - Fraudsters change banking details and trick people into paying money into the wrong accounts.

Investment scams - Scammers promise quick profits and high returns, take people's money and disappear.

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Loan scams - Fraudsters offer easy loans, ask for upfront payments and vanish once they get the money.

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More Briefly News stories on scams

• A woman was reportedly hospitalised after allegedly being scammed out of large amounts of money by a Ugandan man she trusted, leaving her emotionally distressed and in serious financial trouble.
• The SABC warned TV licence holders about a scam in which fraudsters send fake refund emails to trick people into sharing personal and banking details that can be used to steal money.
• A WhatsApp scam allegedly robbed pensioners of R1.2 million in savings after fraudsters tricked them into sharing information that gave criminals access to their money.

Source: Briefly News