Teen Loses R438K Education Fund Left by Late Father in 20-Minute Phone Scam

• 18-year-old Reabetse Modisane lost R44,000 left by her late father for her education after a phone scammer posing as a bank official convinced her to move the money
• The funds disappeared from her account in under two minutes, just days after they were deposited
• Her uncle believes it may have been an inside job, raising serious questions about how the caller knew about the deposit

SOUTH AFRICA - An 18-year-old North West teenager's future has been thrown into uncertainty after losing R44,000 that her late father had saved for her education to a phone scammer in under two minutes.

According to TimesLive, Reabetse Modisane received the funds into her account just days before the incident took place in May. A man then called her, claiming to be a bank official, and told her that the money in her Capitec account needed to be moved urgently for its protection. Within 20 minutes of acting on his instructions, every cent was gone.

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A child who trusted the wrong caller

Reabetse's uncle, Tolo, said his niece had no reason to be suspicious. "She is a child who isn't aware of anything. It's also convenient that the call comes a day after the money was deposited into her account. This seems to be an inside job because no one else knew about the funds," he said.

Standard Bank confirmed it is aware of the case and that investigations are ongoing. Records reportedly showed that a Capitec beneficiary account was created using Reabetse's own device and digital profile just ten days before the transfer took place. Standard Bank also confirmed that payments were authenticated by the customer, suggesting the scammer had guided her through the process during the call.

North West police have since opened a fraud case, though no suspects have been identified at this stage.

Standard Bank has offered the family a small settlement as a gesture of goodwill.

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3 articles on scams

• Briefly News reported that Capitec’s Slam the Scam has flagged a rising scam where fake fraud alerts are being used to target bank customers in South Africa.
• A retired schoolteacher from Dowerglen in Johannesburg has been left devastated after fraudsters wiped out more than R1.2 million from her bank accounts in a sophisticated WhatsApp scam.
• South African consumers lost approximately R2 billion to online scams in 2025 and SABRIC says the number could be states that higher, as some cases were not reported.

Source: Briefly News