AI fraud is outrunning South African banking defences

In March 2026, Standard Bank publicly warned about AI-generated voices, cloned emails and deepfake content being used to mimic legitimate bank communications and staff. This type of activity has continued through to mid-2026 with the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) also warning that criminals are using AI tools to impersonate bank officials, create fake apps and manipulate digital platforms to steal money.

However, many local banks are still struggling with legacy tech, slow change processes, limited data visibility and a risk that is growing faster than their response.

According to the 2026 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, which includes input from sub-Saharan Africa, the AI-driven fraud schemes most cited as having increased significantly over the past two years were deepfake social engineering (44%) and consumer fraud and scams (38%).