Common money scams in South Africa, and what they cost you

This is South Africa's signature money scam and the banking industry body, SABRIC, publishes the method step by step. While you are at an ATM, an unknown person approaches to assist you. They press cancel so the machine ejects your card, and swap it for another one without you realising, usually before you have entered your PIN, which is why the transaction then fails and you assume the machine is faulty. You walk away with somebody else's card and they walk away with yours. SABRIC also describes how the confusion is manufactured: changing the screen language so the display looks unfamiliar, activating the cardless function to alter the layout, or jamming the card slot or PIN pad so you go to a quieter machine around the corner.

The instructions from SABRIC and from the South African Police Service are unusually absolute, and one of them surprises people. Do not accept help at an ATM from anyone, and SABRIC spells out the exception that is not an exception: not even the security personnel guarding the ATM, and not even someone presenting as a bank official. SAPS says the same, noting that security staff at ATMs are there to deter crime and are not authorised to assist with transactions. Go inside the branch instead. If the machine keeps your card, call your bank's stop-card line yourself and never let anyone else make that call for you. Do not use a machine whose screen looks unfamiliar or whose slot or keypad appears tampered with, and never force a card into a slot.

The second half of the card problem happens away from the machine. Skimming devices can be fitted to any card reader, including till points at restaurants and filling stations, and South Africa is a country where fuel is full service, so handing a card through a car window is routine. The rule is the one South African banks give their own customers: your card never leaves your sight. If a staff member needs a different machine, either walk with them or ask them to bring the machine to you. Cover the keypad every time, including at a till.

Two practical additions. Turn on transaction alerts before you travel so a bad charge reaches your phone in minutes rather than at the end of the month, and check your statement while you are still in the country, since reporting from home is much harder. On any terminal or ATM, choose rand rather than US dollars, because the dollar option adds a marked-up rate to every transaction you accept it on. The South Africa cash and cards guide covers how to carry money here.

One specific pattern is worth planning around because it happens at the moment you are least alert. The US State Department records that crime victims have been followed from OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg and then robbed when they reach their home or hotel. It is not a scam in the con-artist sense, but it is how money leaves people who have just landed with everything they brought. The countermeasures are ordinary: arrange your transport before you land rather than sorting it at the curb, keep laptops and camera bags out of sight in the car, and if you think you are being followed, drive to a petrol station or police station rather than to where you are staying.

For transport generally, use Uber or Bolt, both of which work well in the big cities. Two local details matter: at the airports, app pickup is at a designated e-hailing bay rather than the arrivals curb, and at Cape Town that bay is up at Parkade 1 via the skybridge. And never take an unsolicited ride from someone inside the terminal. The South Africa taxis and apps guide has the rest, including the friction between app drivers and metered taxis at some pickup points.

Now the item that goes the other way, and on a safari-and-shopping trip it is worth real money. Foreign visitors can reclaim the 15 percent VAT on goods they take out of South Africa. The catch is entirely procedural, and people miss it at the airport rather than at the shop. You need a proper tax invoice showing the VAT amount and the seller's VAT number, with your name on it for larger purchases, so ask for it at the till rather than accepting a card slip. Then, for anything going in checked luggage, the goods must be inspected and the paperwork stamped before you check in, which means arriving early and going to the VAT desk first.

Two smaller money habits that are customs rather than cons. Fuel is full service, so the attendant who fills up and cleans your windscreen expects a few rand, and the car guard who watches your parked car expects a few rand when you return. Neither is a scam, both are normal, and the amounts are small; the South Africa tipping guide has the going rates. Keep a little cash for exactly this, and for the occasional localized power outage that briefly knocks out card machines.

The best single piece of advice here is not ours, it is the South African Police Service's own: consider setting a daily ATM withdrawal limit with your bank. Do it before you fly. It costs nothing, and it puts a ceiling on the worst case, including the scenario the State Department describes where someone is made to withdraw cash. Alongside it: refuse all help at a cash machine, including from guards, never let your card leave your sight, carry one card and a little cash rather than your whole wallet, use ATMs inside malls and banks in daylight, and book transport before you land.

If something happens: emergency numbers are 10111 for police and 112 from a mobile, and SAPS runs Crime Stop on 08600 10111 and the MySAPS app for reports. Call your bank's stop-card line yourself, immediately, and file a police report even if you expect nothing back, since your insurer will need it. And to keep proportion: these are documented, patterned scams with published countermeasures, which is exactly what makes them avoidable. For getting and spending money well while you are there, see the South Africa cash and cards guide and the South Africa cost guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on South Africa

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do I need cash in South Africa, or can I use cards?Short answer: a card for most of the day, and rand cash for markets, car guards, petrol attendants and tips. Use ATMs in secure spots and mind the skimming scams. Here is how to handle it.
• Tipping in South AfricaSouth Africa does have a tipping culture, and it is expected: 10 to 15% at restaurants. There are also two local customs to know, tipping car guards and petrol attendants. Here is what you actually owe.
• Taxis in South Africa, and the airport e-hailing baysUber and Bolt make getting around South Africa's cities easy, but the airports have a pickup quirk and there is some turf tension worth understanding. Here is the app to use, where it collects you, and what to avoid.
• Staying connected in South Africa.South Africa has a real price gap hidden in plain sight: an ordinary MTN data bundle and a Vodacom tourist bundle can differ by four times for the same gigabytes. The catch on both is RICA, the registration law, and whether it is worth your first afternoon.
• What does getting sick in South Africa cost a visitor?South Africa has two health systems living in one country. The private one is excellent, and it is where a visitor belongs; the private hospitals where a visitor belongs ask for a substantial deposit or proof of cover at admission. The public one is overstretched, and it is not the plan.