Criminals targeting people who shop online in South Africa

• Criminals are indeed targeting people who shop online in South Africa, using sophisticated phishing attempts and mirroring real delivery workflows to trick consumers into paying small release fees.
• The growth of e-commerce in South Africa has made it an attractive target for scams, with online shopping spend increasing by 49.9% year-on-year during the 2025/26 holiday season.
• E-commerce companies and couriers must take steps to protect consumers from these types of scams, including verifying consumer information and monitoring for suspicious activity.