FRIDAY BRIEFING | Anatomy of a scam: Why we fall for them

Almost everyone has a scam story, but it is unlikely you will hear about it because, for most people, it's their dirty little secret. They don't want to talk about what happened for fear of being shamed.  

Clearly it is happening more than people let on. Fraud incidents surged 32% this year, and impersonation of fraud victims increased by 54%, according to the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service.

There's a stereotype that it's more likely the elderly that are gullible, lonely, and more prone to fall for scams. But the truth is that there’s a scam out there for anyone. Scammers use our basic human emotions and desires against us.

They are also using more sophisticated tactics and taking advantage of social media leading to a rise in banking fraud and scams. 

Alleged diamond scam mastermind, Louis Liebenberg used religion to defraud investors from places as far afield as Bloemfontein to Malmesbury, to Kuruman of R4-billion. 

"One of his verses was 'a message of God' that people should reinvest and not withdraw their money," one man told Daily Maverick. 

In this week's Friday Briefing, we consider the anatomy of a scam, and why South Africans fall for them.

Business24's Jan Cronje examines the rise and fall of Liebenberg, who allegedly advertised unpolished diamonds on social media and invited potential investors to invest in his business, with the promise of a lucrative return. This never materialised.

This is followed by Business24's consumer journalist Wendy Knowler's look into how and why scammers manage to fleece people. 

In-depth writer Muhammad Hussain takes a look at 10 of the top scam scandals in SA.

He also spoke to Rufaida Hamilton, head of payments at Standard Bank, on the measures banks are putting in place in light of the rise of AI, which can be used as both a force of good and evil in this landscape. Hussain also sat down with the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service's Nazia Karrim who said that on average South Africans lose about R45 000 in a scamming incident. 

Finally, Hussain gives his own experience with a potential scammer who tried to contact him via WhatsApp. 

With Black Friday around the corner, we hope this will give you some insight into why nobody is immune to fraudsters and scammers. 

Best, 

Vanessa Banton

Opinions editor.