Entrepreneurs are specifically targeted by scams that exploit the trust and administrative pressure of running a business: fraudulent officials demanding payment, phishing attempts impersonating suppliers or banks, and increasingly, deepfake and AI-enabled fraud that makes impersonation more convincing than ever.
These are the categories worth watching for specifically.
Impersonation of officials and authorities
Fraudsters posing as municipal health officials, tax officials or other authorities to demand immediate payment or access are a real and recurring scam, and a legitimate official will never demand immediate cash payment on the spot without proper documented process.
Verify any official’s credentials directly with the relevant department before complying with an unusual or urgent demand, rather than trusting an ID card or uniform alone.
Phishing and business email compromise
Fraudulent emails or messages impersonating a supplier, bank or client, often requesting an urgent change to banking details or payment, target the routine administrative trust businesses rely on daily.
Verify any change to banking or payment details through a separate, known communication channel, a phone call to a number you already have, not one provided in the suspicious message itself, before acting on it.
Deepfake and AI-enabled fraud
AI-generated voice and video impersonation is making fraud that mimics a real, known person, a supplier, a colleague, even a business owner’s own voice, increasingly convincing and harder to detect through instinct alone.
Build a verification habit for any unusual, urgent financial request, even one that sounds or looks like it comes from someone you know, by confirming through a separate channel before acting.
Report and stay informed
Report suspected fraud to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre, and confirm any financial service provider’s legitimacy with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority before engaging with an unfamiliar one.
Build a simple, standard verification process into how your business handles any unusual request involving money or sensitive information, so protection doesn’t depend on catching every scam through vigilance alone.
Frequently asked questions
Do scams specifically target business owners?
Yes. Official impersonation, phishing and increasingly AI-enabled fraud all specifically exploit the administrative trust businesses rely on.
What should be done if someone claiming to be an official demands immediate payment?
Verify their credentials directly with the relevant department before complying; a legitimate official won’t demand immediate cash without proper process.
How can a phishing attempt requesting a banking detail change be caught?
Verify through a separate, known communication channel, not a number or link provided in the suspicious message itself.
Why is deepfake fraud a growing concern?
AI-generated voice and video can convincingly mimic a real, known person, making instinct alone unreliable for detecting fraud.
Where can suspected fraud be reported?
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre, and financial service providers can be checked against the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
