More than one in four South Africans believe it’s acceptable to lie about their income when applying for credit, according to a new survey that has raised concerns about the normalisation of financial dishonesty in the country.
The 2025 FICO Consumer Survey, released this week, found that 26% of South Africans consider it acceptable in some circumstances to exaggerate income on loan applications, while 22% say inflating income for mobile phone contracts is considered normal behaviour.
The findings, based on responses from 1 000 South African adults surveyed in May 2025, reflect the increasing financial strain faced by consumers across the country. However, experts warn that this trend represents a dangerous rise in first-party fraud – fraudulent activity committed by consumers using their own identities.
“Consumers are falsifying information in applications to gain credit, not understanding how much these loans could stretch their finances and risk leaving them unable to repay, or even facing the consequences of committing fraud,” said James Roche, principal consultant at FICO, the global analytics software company behind the survey.
The paradox of fraud
Despite the willingness of some consumers to misrepresent their financial circumstances, the survey revealed a striking contradiction: most South Africans still expect robust fraud protection from their banks.
One quarter of respondents ranked strong fraud protection as their primary consideration when selecting a financial services provider, placing it ahead of traditional decision drivers such as value for money, rewards programmes or brand familiarity. When including those who ranked it among their top three priorities, two-thirds of respondents considered fraud protection essential.
Ease of use emerged as another top priority, with 27% of South Africans citing it as a primary consideration, indicating a growing demand for simplicity and accessibility in banking services.
Acceptance of stricter identity checks
The survey also revealed that South Africans are increasingly willing to undergo rigorous identity verification processes if it means better protection against fraud. Only 27% said they would abandon an application if identity checks were too time-consuming or difficult, suggesting that the majority accept more thorough onboarding procedures as the price of security.
Biometric authentication has become the preferred method for securing online transactions and accounts. Fingerprint verification is strongly favoured by 65% of South Africans, while 60% prefer facial recognition. Traditional security methods such as passwords and PINs are steadily losing consumer confidence.
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The survey identified identity theft and deception as South Africans’ biggest fraud concerns. Respondents expressed particular worry about being tricked into sending money and having their identities misused to open financial accounts. While approximately 7% of respondents reported that their identity had already been used by fraudsters to open accounts, experts believe the true figure may be significantly higher due to low awareness and detection rates.
The trust imperative
“South Africans’ expectations of their financial providers are higher than ever. This is about trust,” Roche said. “People want to know their data is safe, applications are being fairly evaluated and the systems in place are capable of distinguishing between legitimate use and criminal intent.”
He emphasised the critical need for financial institutions to design identity verification systems that are adaptive, intelligent and frictionless, requiring investment in technologies and strategies that deliver speed without sacrificing accuracy or trust.
The findings come as banks face mounting pressure to prevent fraud while lending responsibly in an increasingly challenging economic environment.
“While checks during applications may feel frustrating, they are there to protect the customer,” Roche noted, highlighting the delicate balance financial institutions must strike between accessibility and security in the modern credit landscape.
About FICO
FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting four billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency.
Learn more at https://www.fico.com/en .
