Calls in which fraudsters pose as officials calling from a Swiss number have been among the most frequently reported incidents to the NCSC in recent years. From January to June 2026, more than 400 reports were received regularly every month. With the extension of the caller ID requirement to mobile phone numbers on 1 July, the number of notifications in July fell to under 100 – a drop of more than 75 per cent compared with previous months. The initial roll-out phase for landline numbers in January had already shown the first signs of a downward trend. Despite the decline in fraudulent calls made in the name of public authorities, the number of reports remain high, with 27,128 voluntary reports and 200 reportable cyberincidents. Fraud remains a dominant and lucrative mass market business.
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THE ISUZU MOTORS PAYROLL FRAUD (GQEBERHA, SA)
Date: February 16, 2026 Perpetrator: Natasja Slabbert (42)
Case Description: In a case that hit home for the Eastern Cape business community, Natasja Slabbert, a payroll administrator at Isuzu Motors South Africa’s Struandale plant, was arrested for an alleged R10.5 million fraud. The scheme, which began surfacing in late 2024, exploited the very systems designed to manage employee compensation. Slabbert allegedly manipulated payroll records to create false entries that appeared as legitimate deductions and contributions on employee payslips. In reality, these “deductions” were being diverted into her personal bank account.
The fraud was only uncovered after diligent employees noticed that their net “take-home” pay was significantly lower than expected, despite the gross amounts on their payslips remaining high. Following a thorough probe by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team and the NPA’s Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, it was discovered that in August 2024 alone, over R626,000 was unlawfully transferred. Slabbert was granted bail of R5,000 on February 17, 2026, and the case has been postponed to later in the month for further legal proceedings. This case highlights the critical need for “segregation of duties” in payroll departments, as a single point of failure allowed for the systematic siphoning of millions over nearly two years.
Link to Original: PE Express – Isuzu Payroll Fraud