FIC Issues Advisory on Holiday Season Scams and Typologies

Posted 22 December 2025 Written by Acts Online
Category FICA

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has issued a compliance advisory and typologies report highlighting the prevalence of holiday-related scams and outlining measures to mitigate financial crime risks.

In terms of its mandate under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, No. 38 of 2001 (FICA), the FIC published a 10-page typologies report in November 2024 titled “Crime does not take a holiday — Avoid being scammed this festive season”. This was followed by a formal reminder issued on 2 December 2025 (and a previous alert dated 11 December 2024) to alert consumers, businesses, and accountable institutions to the heightened risk of financial fraud during holiday periods.

The advisory details common scam typologies, including phishing, deposit scams, and fraudulent holiday bookings, which exploit increased transaction volumes. Accountable institutions are urged to maintain heightened vigilance and robust customer due diligence (CDD) procedures to detect and report suspicious transactions.

Click here to download the FIC Typologies Report: Crime does not take a holiday.

Click here to access the FIC Holiday Scams Reminder.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Exercise heightened personal vigilance when executing online financial transactions or responding to unsolicited communications during holiday periods.
  • For your business: Ensure that your firm’s risk management and compliance programme (RMCP) under FICA incorporates updated typology indicators to detect and report suspicious transaction patterns associated with seasonal fraud.
  • For your clients: Advise clients, particularly those operating in high-risk retail or consumer-facing sectors, to strengthen their internal payment verification controls to prevent falling victim to business email compromise and deposit scams.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/fic-steps-to-avoid-being-victims-to-scammers

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