A company number, a convincing website and a regulator’s name answer different questions. Before paying, South Africans need to establish who they are dealing with and which institution can act if something goes wrong. These ten official resources separate identity protection, registration checks, scam warnings, supplier complaints and criminal reporting.
If money or account access is at risk, contact your bank promptly through a trusted channel. Do not wait for a website scan or a complaint response before raising suspicious transactions with it.
How we selected these 10
This is an editorial shortlist of resources published by South African public bodies or the organisations operating the services. It is not a measured ranking, a certification of businesses or a recovery service. Numbers are for navigation. We retained both SAFPS and its Yima initiative because identity-protection registration and website/scam-reporting tools perform different jobs. Links contain no affiliate codes; there is no paid placement in this selection.
At a glance
For identity misuse, start with SAFPS. For a suspicious website, consult Yima. Check financial-service providers with FSCA and credit-sector registrants with NCR. SARB explains Reserve Bank impersonation and advance-fee schemes; SABRIC covers banking risks and SARS tax phishing. SAPS handles criminal reporting, NCC supplier complaints and CIPC company records.
1. SAFPS: protect a compromised identity
Protective Registration alerts SAFPS members to take extra care when checking your identity. The service is free. If someone has opened credit in your name, contact the credit provider and follow the supporting-document requirements. This member-database protection does not replace reporting the crime to police.
Official resource and current instructions
2. Yima: assess a suspicious website and report a scam
Yima is a SAFPS initiative, rather than a separate regulator. Its toolbox offers website vulnerability checks and a scam-reporting form. The form says reports support awareness and statistics, and that you must still report the incident to police. A scan result is an indicator, not a guarantee of safety.
Official resource and current instructions
3. SARB: check claims about money held by the Reserve Bank
Use the Reserve Bank’s fraud guidance when someone demands a fee to release an inheritance, foreign payment or supposed clearance certificate. SARB says it does not hold accounts for private individuals or receive their cross-border payments. Its page explains the reporting route for cross-border advance-fee scams.
Official resource and current instructions
4. NCR: check a lender or debt counsellor’s registration
The National Credit Regulator’s register separates credit providers, debt counsellors and credit bureaux, including registered, cancelled and lapsed categories. Check the relevant category and current status. A company-registration number alone does not answer whether someone is registered with the credit regulator for the work being offered.
Official resource and current instructions
5. FSCA: verify a financial services provider
Search the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s FSP database by provider name or number before dealing with a financial services offer. Confirm the identity of the firm you are actually contacting, rather than relying on a number pasted into an advert. Registration information is a check, not a promise of investment returns.
Official resource and current instructions
6. SABRIC: recognise banking scams and act on account risk
SABRIC’s safety guidance covers phishing, changed-bank-details scams and other banking-fraud methods. It advises contacting your bank immediately about suspicious or fraudulent transactions and lists bank fraud contacts. Use it for banking-specific precautions; reporting a loss to an information resource is not the same as notifying your bank.
Official resource and current instructions
7. SARS: compare suspicious tax messages with published warnings
The SARS scams page publishes examples of impersonation and phishing, with a route for reporting suspected phishing. SARS says it will never request passwords, one-time PINs, banking PINs or eFiling credentials through email, SMS, social media or telephone. Open the official page yourself instead of following a refund message’s link.
Official resource and current instructions
8. SAPS: open a criminal case and retain its reference
Victims can report a crime at their nearest police station; SAPS says reporting is free. A police official takes a statement and registers the case. Keep the CAS number for enquiries and follow-up with the assigned detective. A report to a website, regulator or industry body does not itself open that police case.
Official resource and current instructions
9. NCC: lodge a supplier complaint within its consumer remit
The National Consumer Commission’s e-Services route handles complaints about alleged supplier breaches of the Consumer Protection Act. You need a registered, approved profile. Supply the transaction and dispute dates, proof of purchase, steps already taken and correspondence. This consumer-complaint process serves a different purpose from a police investigation.
Official resource and current instructions
10. CIPC: check the entity behind a business name
CIPC’s enterprise-search page now directs users to BizProfile on BizPortal and says a login is required. Use the official route to check entity details and status. Finding a registered company does not establish that a caller represents it, that a particular offer is authorised, or that your money will be recovered.
Official resource and current instructions
Before you choose
Match the route to the problem. A registry check, an awareness report, a consumer complaint and a criminal case are not interchangeable. Keep messages, receipts, transaction details and reference numbers. Verify contact details independently and do not send passwords or one-time PINs to someone claiming to help. None of these resources guarantees recovery or proves that an offer is legitimate.
Sources and updates
Official pages and their publicly readable instructions were checked on 13 November 2026. Each entry links to its source. We did not submit personal information, lodge reports, test a disputed business or conduct a vulnerability scan. Procedures and page locations can change; follow the institution’s current instructions.
Cover photograph: keyboard and notes, 7 February 2017, used as general context for checking information online. It does not depict a scam, victim or any listed organisation. Photo: LUM3N / Pixabay via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Workplace-2303851_1920.jpg . Licence: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ . Cropped and resized for display.
