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How Scammers Exploit Shopping Season and How You Can Protect Yourself

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How Scammers Exploit Shopping Season and How You Can Protect Yourself

Pieter Loedolff and his wife Angelique thought they’d found a Black Friday bargain: a PlayStation 5 advertised on Facebook Marketplace for R3,850, marked down from R4,500. They drove to a house in Crossroads, Nyanga, to collect it. When they arrived, a woman directed them to wait. Then men appeared. One held Pieter at gunpoint. Another stabbed him repeatedly, demanding money. Angelique lay on the car hooter, screaming for help. They escaped, but without their money and deeply traumatized.

Half of all South Africans have been scammed at least once, with most incidents happening on social media, according to JustMoney’s ‘Money & Me Survey’. More than 100,000 cyberattacks were recorded on banking accounts in 2024, costing South Africans around R1.8 billion. Digital banking fraud cases almost doubled from 31,612 in 2023 to 64,000 in 2024.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners South Africa confirms that fraud consistently spikes during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. Scammers exploit the urgency and excitement of shopping season. When you’re racing against time to grab deals or find the perfect gift, they count on you to skip the safety checks.

Here’s how they operate and how you can stop them.

 

The Facebook Marketplace Trap

What Happened

A man in Kaalfontein, Midrand, saw a car advertised on Facebook in early 2023. The price looked good. He chatted with the seller, felt confident, and transferred R10,000 as a deposit. The seller disappeared, the advertisement vanished and the man was blocked. His money was gone.

Police opened a fraud case at Ivory Park SAPS, but the man never recovered his R10,000.

Red Flags

  • Seller pressures you to pay immediately before viewing the item

  • Price is 50% or more below retail

  • Seller won’t meet in person at a public place

  • Only accepts EFT to a personal account

  • Recently created profile with limited activity

How to Protect Yourself

  1. Never pay a deposit without seeing the item in person.

  2. Search the seller’s name and phone number online to check for scam reports.

  3. Meet in person at a busy public place during daylight hours.

  4. Use Facebook Marketplace’s checkout system with buyer protection, or use PayFast.

  5. If buying high-value electronics, insist on testing the item before payment.

  6. Trust your instincts. If someone is selling a R10,000 item for R2,000, ask yourself why.

The Fake Delivery Scam

What Happened

South Africans receive SMS messages claiming to be from RAM Couriers, The Courier Guy, or PostNet. The message says: “Your package is waiting. Pay R16.13 for delivery.” Or: “Due to an incorrect address, we cannot deliver your order. Update your details within 24 hours.”

When victims click the link and enter their card details to pay the small fee, scammers capture their full card number and CVV.

In some cases, scammers link a smartwatch to the victim’s bank card using the stolen details. They then use tap-to-pay transactions at retail outlets, keeping amounts low to avoid detection.

Red Flags

  • You weren’t expecting a delivery

  • Message asks for payment via SMS link

  • Small payment amount (R16, R20, R30)

  • Urgent language: “act within 24 hours” or “package will be returned”

  • Link doesn’t match the courier company’s official website

  • Spelling errors or unusual phrasing

How to Protect Yourself

  1. Never click links in unexpected delivery messages.

  2. If you ordered something, open the courier company’s app or website directly and check your tracking number there.

  3. Call the courier company using the number from their official website, not from the SMS.

  4. Legitimate courier companies never ask for payment via SMS link.

  5. Check your email confirmations from the retailer to verify actual delivery status.

  6. If you clicked a suspicious link and entered card details, contact your bank immediately.

The Fake Online Store

The Scam

Scammers create websites that look identical to Takealot, Makro, or Game. They use URLs like “takealot-deals.co.za” or “makro-specials.com.” The sites feature Black Friday banners, countdown timers, and deals that seem too good to be true: a 65-inch Samsung TV for R4,999 instead of R12,000.

These fake sites appear in Google ads. The websites mirror legitimate retailers with the same logos, layouts, and product images. The only payment option is EFT to a personal bank account. Once you pay, the site vanishes.

According to SABRIC, card-not-present fraud (online purchases) rose by 19% in 2023, costing South Africans R338.5 million that year. Credit card holders bore over 80% of these losses.

Red Flags

  • URL doesn’t match exactly (extra words, different domain ending)

  • Only payment option is EFT or cash deposit to an individual

  • No customer reviews, or reviews look copied

  • Deals are significantly below market price

  • Countdown timers creating false urgency

How to Protect Yourself

  1. Type the retailer’s URL directly into your browser instead of clicking ads.

  2. Check the URL carefully. The real Takealot is “takealot.com,” not “takealot-sales.co.za.”

  3. Look for the padlock icon next to the URL and verify the security certificate.

  4. Open a new browser tab and check the price on the retailer’s official site.

  5. Never pay via EFT to unknown sellers. Use credit cards or PayFast for buyer protection.

  6. If a deal seems impossibly good, it probably is.

The Gift Card Scam

The Scam

During December, scammers advertise discounted gift cards on Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace: R1,000 Woolworths voucher for R700, R500 Pick n Pay card for R350. They claim they received them as corporate gifts or won them in a competition.

Sellers send photos of gift cards with exposed codes before you pay. You transfer the money, receive the card details, and when you try to use them at the till, the cards show zero balance. The scammer either already used the cards or sold the same codes to multiple people.

Red Flags

  • Cards are significantly discounted with vague explanations

  • Seller sends photos showing card codes before payment

  • Seller insists on EFT payment only

  • No willingness to meet in person or verify balance together

How to Protect Yourself

  1. Buy gift cards only from official retailers or authorized resellers.

  2. Ask yourself: if the card has value, why wouldn’t the seller just use it?

  3. Never accept gift cards where codes are revealed before you pay.

  4. Check the card balance on the retailer’s website before completing payment.

  5. If buying second-hand cards, meet in person and verify the balance at a store together.

The Layby Scam

The Scam

Small retailers and Facebook sellers offer Christmas layby: pay a deposit now, collect your item in December. You make weekly payments for high-demand items like gaming consoles, bicycles, or trampolines. When collection time arrives in mid-December, the store is closed, the seller has blocked you, or they claim your item was stolen.

Red Flags

  • No written contract or receipt for your layby

  • Shop or seller is new with no established reputation

  • No physical address or only operates online

  • Pressure to pay larger deposits upfront

How to Protect Yourself

  1. Only use layby with established retailers you can physically visit.

  2. Get a written agreement with collection dates and refund terms.

  3. Keep all receipts and payment confirmations.

  4. Pay with a traceable method (bank transfer, not cash) and note the reference.

  5. Visit the store periodically to verify they’re still operating and your item is secure.

If You’ve Been Scammed, act immediately:

  1. Contact your bank to stop transactions or dispute charges.

  2. Report the fraud to SAPS at your nearest station or online.

  3. File a complaint with the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC).

  4. Report the seller to the platform (Facebook, Gumtree, the fake website, etc.).

  5. Gather all evidence: screenshots, messages, transaction records, emails.

The faster you act, the better your chance of recovering your money.

Don’t Let Scammers Win

This shopping season, scammers are counting on your excitement to override your judgment. They know you’re rushed, hunting for deals, and eager to secure that perfect gift.

But here’s what they don’t expect: you now know exactly how they work.

Every fake website, every too-good-to-be-true price, every urgent SMS has been exposed.

The 60 seconds you spend verifying a seller could save you months of financial devastation.

Don’t become another statistic.

Your money, your family, your peace of mind—they’re all worth that extra minute of caution.