ACFE SA

This Youth Day, we are reminded that the future of South Africa lies in the hands of its young people.

At the ACFE SA, we believe that creating a better, more sustainable, fraud-free future is one of the greatest investments we can make in the next generation.

Fraud and corruption do not only affect organisations today — they undermine economic growth, erode trust and limit the opportunities available to the youth who will enter tomorrow's workforce.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' global research, organisations lose an estimated 5% of their annual revenue to fraud. By promoting integrity, accountability and ethical leadership, we can help build stronger organisations, healthier economies and more opportunities for future generations.

This Youth Day, let us work together to create a future defined not by corruption, but by opportunity; not by dishonesty, but by integrity; and not by division, but by ubuntu.

Together, we can build a better, sustainable, fraud-free future for South Africa's youth.

@50

Africa hosts more than half of the world's mobile money accounts and processes approximately 74% of global mobile money transactions. As mobile money adoption grows, so does the threat from fraudsters.

Three common scams continue to target mobile money users across the continent:

SIM Swap – Criminals hijack your phone number, intercept authentication codes, and gain access to your accounts.

Impersonation – Fraudsters pose as bank agents or telecoms staff, create a sense of urgency, and trick victims into revealing PINs or credentials.

Fake Agents – Counterfeit cash-in/cash-out operators exploit customer trust to steal funds and personal information.

INTERPOL's 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment found that 95% of surveyed African countries reported challenges including inadequate training, resource constraints, and limited access to specialised cybercrime tools.

INTERPOL's 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment found that 95% of surveyed African countries reported challenges, including inadequate training, resource constraints, and limited access to specialised cybercrime tools.

Learn more: https://acfesa.co.za/membership-types

Is your organisation equipped to detect, investigate, and prevent the next generation of financial crime?

Africa's digital boom is a double-edged sword.

The INTERPOL HQ Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report reveals scam notifications surged up to 3,000% in some countries last year, with South Africa accounting for 40% of ransomware attacks and 65% of digital fraud incidents on the continent.

AI is making it worse. Deepfakes, synthetic voice scams, and mobile money fraud are outpacing law enforcement, fuelled by under-resourced cybersecurity infrastructure and widespread mobile financial transactions.

Businesses can't afford a reactive approach. Proactive fraud prevention isn't optional; it's survival.

Equip yourself. ACFESA is training the professionals who fight back.

View upcoming events: https://acfesa.co.za/events
Full INTERPOL report: https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2025/New-INTERPOL-report-warns-of-sharp-rise-in-cybercrime-in-Compliance Institute Southern Africa

Deepfakes already fooled one team out of $25M. Is yours next?

Deepfake fraud incidents have seen a significant surge in 2025. According to 'The 2025 Deepfake Threat Report', $1,28B of losses were reported. However, it is difficult to determine the real financial damage due to the unknown number of unreported cases. Furthermore, over $200M was lost in Q1 2025 in North America alone. 1 in 4 executives have already been targeted, and AI fraud is projected to hit $40B by 2027.

Fraudsters clone voices from seconds of audio, generate fake IDs that pass visual inspection, and join live video calls posing as your CFO, pressuring teams into approving transfers on the spot.

The hard truth: humans only detect deepfakes correctly 55-60% of the time. Process has to do the work that instinct can't.

Controls that matter:
- Verify payments on a second channel
- Use only pre-approved callback numbers
- Create executive codewords for high-value transactions
- Follow FinCEN's deepfake fraud guidance.

Modern fraud techniques are strong. Your controls need to be stronger.

Read more in the comment section!

Early-bird Registrations for the 2026 ACFE Africa Anti-Fraud Conference & Exhibition are now open and end on 31 March 2026.

Join the continent’s leading fraud fighters for:
• Cutting-edge insights
• Global and local expertise
• Powerful networking
• Practical tools for immediate workplace implementation

Not convinced? Watch our 2025 Anti-Fraud Conference highlight video below.

Be part of the movement shaping the future of fraud prevention. Register now:
https://acfesa.glueup.com/event/19th-annual-acfe-africa-conference-and-exhibition-154037/



https://youtu.be/TlmUioIURz8

18th Annual ACFE Africa Anti-Fraud Conference: Highlights A special thank you to our valued sponsors, exhibitors, and expert speakers. Your support and expertise enabled us to deliver world-class anti-fraud training...

You may know our email addresses… but do you know the faces behind them?

Here at the ACFE SA, we value our space, our colleagues, our environment, and our purpose.

Behind every event, initiative and agreement is a team of dedicated staff who are not only skilled at what we do — we truly believe in the work we do.

Many of you might already have our email addresses saved or the ACFE SA phone line on speed dial. So we thought it was time to introduce the faces — and the hearts — behind the people who make it all happen.

Thank you for giving us a reason to keep fighting the good fight.

Watch the video below to meet the team.

Meet the ACFE SA Team The Team Behind the MissionIn this video, we introduce the passionate professionals who work behind the scenes to make our initiatives, events, and programme...

“Curiouser and Curiouser”
Last week, fraud-fighting women stepped down the rabbit hole to explore the future of fraud . . .

The ACFE SA Women’s Day event, themed 'The future of Fraud: Curiouser and Curiouser', was inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Each woman who joined us for our Mad Hatter tea party reminded us how powerful it is when women in the forensic and fraud-fighting community come together.

Our speakers shared valuable insights into fraud investigations, integrity, and the strength it takes to remain both powerful and graceful in the rooms we enter. But the true inspiration came from every skilled, bold and curious woman who attended.

In our profession, curiosity is powerful. It drives us to ask the hard questions, challenge the status quo, and follow the truth — even down the rabbit hole.

Just as the vorpal sword is used to slay the Jabberwocky, integrity, grace and ethics can be wielded to overcome fraud and corruption. Let us all be reminded that integrity is not a weakness, but a weapon.

We salute the brave, bold, curious - and just a little mad - fraud-fighting women!

A special thank you to our speakers; Roxane Ferreira; Mandy Wiener; Annemari Krugel; Felicity Ncube; Jennifer Reddy; Annien Colyn and Mosima Tambani, as well as our sponsors Morar Incorporated and Africa Training Academy. And the beautiful Toadbury Hall Country Hotel for hosting us.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), organisations worldwide lose an estimated 5% of their annual revenue to fraud.

To put that into perspective, that’s not just a minor operational leak, it is a significant financial drain that directly impacts profitability, growth, employee morale, and stakeholder trust.

Fraud doesn’t only affect the bottom line. It damages reputation, weakens internal culture, and can take years to recover from. And in many cases, fraud goes undetected for months - or even years - before action is taken.

However, the good news is that fraud is preventable. Strong internal controls, regular risk assessments, leadership accountability, whistleblower mechanisms, employee training, and a culture of transparency are powerful tools in reducing exposure.

Prevention is not an expense - it is a strategic investment in sustainability, resilience, and long-term success.