🛡️ Scam Watch
Fraudsters increasingly target pensioners directly — at shopping centres, over the phone, and online. Knowing the pattern is your best protection. Here's what to watch for, and what to do if it happens to you.
⚠️ The golden rule
No genuine bank, SAPS officer, SARS official, or government agency will ever ask you to transfer money, share your banking app screenshots, or read out a one-time PIN over the phone or on a video call — for any reason, ever. If someone asks you to do this, hang up. It's a scam, even if they sound official and know some of your details.
Common scams targeting pensioners right now
These are the patterns fraud units are actively warning about. If something like this happens to you, you're not alone — and it's not your fault.
Street "special promotions"
Someone approaches you near a shopping centre, taxi rank, or grant pay point offering a "special deal" — often a funeral policy — and asks for your ID number and a photo "for verification." A policy is opened in your name, and you only find out when money is deducted from your grant or pension.
Fake police or bank officials
A caller claims to be from SAPS, your bank, or the Reserve Bank, saying your account is linked to a crime and you must "prove your innocence" by moving your money to a "safe account," or by sharing your banking app details.
SASSA / grant messages
A text, WhatsApp message, or call claims there's a problem with your grant, an unauthorised deduction, or a "new registration" needed — and asks you to click a link or share your ID and banking details to fix it.
SARS / tax refund emails
An email or SMS says you're due a tax refund and asks you to click through and enter your banking details to "release" the funds. SARS never asks for banking details this way.
"Free" gifts or charity visits
Someone visits your home or approaches you claiming to represent a charity, offering free food parcels or gifts in exchange for your ID and grant details "for registration purposes."
Online marketplace deals
An item is listed online at a price that seems too good to be true. You're asked to pay upfront via bank transfer before receiving or seeing the item — and then the seller disappears.
If you think you've been targeted
- 1
Don't act immediately. Real emergencies from real institutions can wait a few minutes for you to call back on a number you look up yourself — not one given to you by the caller.
- 2
Hang up or close the message if anyone asks you to transfer money, share a PIN, or send screenshots of your banking app.
- 3
Call your bank directly using the number on your card or their official website, not a number given to you in the call or message.
- 4
Report it to SAPS Crime Stop or the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (contact details below).
- 5
Tell someone you trust — a family member, friend, or this community. Scammers rely on shame and silence; talking about it helps others avoid the same trap.
Who to contact
Keep these numbers saved in your phone.
