FlySafair has issued a scam warning to South African shoppers to stay alert as scammers step up tactics around Black Friday, reports Cape {town} Etc.
The airline told BusinessTech that fraudsters use time pressure and tempting discounts to trick people into sharing payment and personal details.
Statistics from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) show a sharp rise in digital attacks. SABRIC reports an 86% increase in digital banking fraud incidents in 2024 and losses of about R1.9 billion.
This underlines just how risky the online season can be for consumers.
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‘Time pressure, irresistible discounts, and high transaction volumes make consumers more susceptible to fraud,’ said FlySafair Chief marketing Officer Kirby Gordon.
He told customers to check every offer on FlySafair’s official site and on verified social channels before they click or pay.
FlySafair warned that scammers now use AI-generated deepfakes, fake emails, bogus booking sites and malicious QR codes to appear genuine.
The airline stressed it will never ask for a passenger’s booking reference, known as a PNR, via unsolicited messages.
Advice from the airline and fraud specialists is simple: Confirm the web address is exactly flysafair.co.za, look for blue verification ticks on social accounts and treat offers that seem too good to be true with scepticism. Report suspicious pages so others do not fall victim.
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Picture: Jacques Stander / Gallo Images
