SABRIC Reports Drop in Banking Crime Losses but Cautions Against Increasing AI-Driven Fraud Risks

Johannesburg – The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) has published its Annual Crime Statistics for 2024, indicating a notable decrease in financial crime losses while also alerting to the rising danger of artificial intelligence (AI) in fraud operations.

In 2023, South Africa faced financial crime losses totaling R3.3 billion.

This amount fell to R2.7 billion in 2024, signifying a nearly 18 percent reduction.

SABRIC credits this progress to improved prevention and detection strategies implemented by the banking sector.

However, criminals have adapted to these new environments, increasingly using AI tools for their fraudulent activities.

According to SABRIC CEO, Andre Wentzel, “Criminals are utilizing AI to devise scams that seem more credible and persuasive.”

“From flawless phishing emails to AI-generated WhatsApp communications and even voice-cloned deepfakes, these methods underscore the necessity for proactive and cooperative approaches to safeguard consumers.”

The 2024 statistics reveal that digital banking fraud remains the predominant channel, constituting 65.3 percent of reported cases.

Cases nearly doubled, escalating from 31,612 in 2023 to 64,000 in 2024, with losses rising from R1 billion to over R1.4 billion.

Crucially, these incidents were primarily due to social engineering tactics that exploited human mistakes, rather than technical vulnerabilities in banking platforms.

AI-driven crime has emerged as an escalating concern, with criminals using machine-generated content to mislead victims.

Reports included AI-crafted phishing emails and WhatsApp messages, along with early incidents of voice-based deepfake scams impersonating individuals and banking representatives.

SABRIC has warned that by 2025, real-time deepfake audio and video may become common instruments in fraud schemes.

Other crime categories displayed significant trends as well. ATM assaults declined by 18 percent, leading to a 44 percent drop in cash losses.

Related robberies decreased by 35 percent, with client losses down 64 percent, achievements credited to a collaborative industry task force that has mitigated ATM bombings.

Card-related fraud continued to be largely influenced by Card Not Present (CNP) transactions, which accounted for 85.6 percent of overall fraud losses for South African WWW.SABRIC.CO.ZA issued credit cards.

Lost and stolen cards represented 8.2 percent of the cases, while false applications made up 2.9 percent.

Counterfeit card fraud also remains a significant issue, with 64.4 percent of counterfeit credit card fraud and 63.1 percent of counterfeit debit card fraud occurring within the country.

Toll plazas and service stations have been identified as hotspots for these incidents.

SABRIC confirmed its commitment to collaborating with its members to enhance consumer education and awareness efforts, broaden industry cooperation, and invest in technology to protect the banking system.

“Safeguarding the financial sector demands ongoing vigilance and collaboration among banks, regulators, law enforcement, and civil society,” Wentzel emphasized.

“Together, we can stay ahead of an ever-evolving criminal landscape.”