𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱

South Africa’s cybercrime landscape has reached a troubling inflection point. The recent reports of hijacked SARS eFiling profiles, combined with an ongoing surge in social-media-based payment fraud, reveal a deeper structural weakness: the country lacks a unified, compliance-led framework to safeguard digital identity and transactional integrity across financial and government systems.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆

Whether it’s a consumer tricked by a fraudulent Facebook advert or a taxpayer whose eFiling profile has been hijacked, the underlying vector is the same — identity compromise.
Criminals exploit verification weaknesses and siloed systems, moving seamlessly between social platforms, government portals, and banks. Once personal or banking information is captured, syndicates can reroute refunds, apply for loans, or trigger fraudulent payments — often before victims even realise what’s happened.

While banks, the CIPC, and SARS each have their own verification controls, the absence of inter-institutional coordination — underpinned by lawful data-sharing protocols — creates exploitable gaps.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸

The reflexive response to cybercrime is often “more technology.” But technology without governance merely shifts the risk elsewhere.
The real solution lies in compliance-aligned data cooperation — ensuring that fraud detection and intelligence-sharing operate within the bounds of POPIA, FICA, and PCI-DSS.

No such unified framework currently exists in South Africa. Financial institutions, regulators, and government agencies still operate under fragmented mandates that limit proactive coordination, even when criminal activity clearly overlaps.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝗗𝗜𝗜𝗙)

At IPSE: Tech Law Services, we’ve been developing a conceptual framework that extends our earlier work on social media payment fraud to address identity-driven risks like eFiling hijacking.
We call it the Digital Identity Integrity Framework (DIIF) — a compliance-first model for secure cooperation between banks, SARS, the CIPC, and regulators.

𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿
Establish a unified regulatory and legal foundation that allows limited, lawful data verification between institutions.
• POPIA and FICA-aligned data-sharing protocols
• Joint risk assessments and breach-notification templates
• An “accredited compliance partner” model to support the Information Regulator’s oversight and certification of data-handling practices

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲
Deploy AI and heuristic tools to identify suspicious digital activity — for instance, multiple login attempts or changes in taxpayer banking details.
• Trigger consumer verification before sensitive changes are applied
• Leverage bank apps for secondary authentication (e.g., “approve this change” prompts)
• Integrate with SABRIC or FIC intelligence for cross-platform pattern detection

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗯
Create a privacy-compliant fraud intelligence-sharing mechanism between SARS, banks, and regulators.
• Minimal-data, encrypted reporting of confirmed incidents
• Real-time alerts for emerging high-risk behaviours or fraud syndicates
• Operate through a regulated intermediary such as an accredited compliance partner (e.g., IPSE) to ensure privacy safeguards

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 & 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
Develop white papers, joint training, and sector briefings to guide policymakers and compliance teams.
• Cross-sector workshops led by accredited compliance partners
• Public awareness initiatives to rebuild consumer trust
• Policy recommendations for Treasury, SARS, and the Information Regulator

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀

In my recent Tech4Law article, I argued that South Africa’s Information Regulator could expand its reach and technical capability by accrediting trusted compliance partners to support oversight and implementation.
The same principle applies here: regulated intermediaries can act as lawful, neutral connectors between institutions, facilitating data collaboration while ensuring strict adherence to POPIA and other laws.

𝗔 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

If South Africa is serious about protecting its citizens’ digital identities, we must move beyond institutional silos. A Digital Identity Integrity Framework, supported by accredited compliance partners, can provide the governance and collaboration backbone the country currently lacks.

This approach won’t just mitigate eFiling and payment fraud — it will restore confidence in the digital economy, strengthen compliance culture, and position our banks, regulators, and service providers as leaders in lawful innovation.

By Péru du Toit, Founder of IPSE: Tech Law Services
About the Author:
Péru du Toit is the founder of IPSE: Tech Law Services, a legal technology consultancy that helps South African businesses align cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance under frameworks such as POPIA, FICA, and ISO 27001.