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This blog offers general guidance based on information available at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date details, please contact Netcash or other service providers directly.
Every November, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals take the South African eCommerce market by storm. It’s during this time that most merchants are torn between building a quick checkout process and a safe one. This bold line is where holiday payment fraud scams thrive.
Black Friday fraud prevention is no longer just a “nice to have” strategy; it is a core part of payment security for eCommerce in South Africa. The sharp rise in website traffic means an increase in fraud attempts, and your payment system must be able to withstand them.
In this guide, you will learn about the most common Black Friday fraud trends and how to prevent them. It explains how to handle chargebacks and implement robust fraud-prevention controls.
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Why fraud spikes during Black Friday
For many online businesses, Black Friday is the biggest sales event of the year. Thousands of shoppers browse, compare products, and place orders within a matter of hours. While this surge in activity is great for your revenue, it also brews the perfect storm for fraudsters to thrive.
Factors contributing to the increase in fraud during November include:
- Massive increase in online transactions: The more transactions your store processes, the more opportunities fraudsters have to blend in with genuine customers. A suspicious purchase that would normally stand out can easily be overlooked when hundreds of legitimate orders are coming in every hour.
- New customers with no purchase history: Black Friday attracts first-time shoppers looking for deals. While gaining new customers is good for business, it also means you have no historical data to determine whether an order is real or potentially fraudulent.
- Merchants prioritising speed over fraud checks: Customers expect fast checkouts and quick delivery during Black Friday. To keep up with demand, some businesses loosen their fraud controls or skip manual order reviews altogether. Criminals often exploit this urgency to complete transactions before anyone notices unusual activity.
- Fraudsters exploiting busy support teams: Customer support teams are often stretched during major shopping events. Longer response times and increased workloads make it easier for criminals to exploit refund requests, fake payment confirmations, or account takeover attempts.
- Increase in stolen card activity during major retail events: Fraudsters often use stolen card details during Black Friday, knowing that higher transaction volumes make unauthorised transactions harder to detect. A legitimate-looking purchase made with stolen card information can result in costly chargebacks long after the festive shopping rush has ended.
The most common Black Friday fraud attacks
Understanding how fraud happens is the first step towards preventing it. While new scams emerge every year, most online payment fraud during Black Friday falls into a handful of common categories. Take a look at the most common eCommerce fraud attack types below:
1. Card-not-present (CNP) fraud
Card-not-present fraud occurs when stolen card details are used to make purchases online without the physical card being present. Unlike in-store purchases, online transactions rely on payment authentication rather than a chip-and-PIN verification. If a fraudster has access to stolen card information, they can continue making purchases until the card is blocked. For you, this often leads to financial losses, chargebacks, admin costs, and damaged customer trust.
2. Card testing attacks
Before using stolen payment cards for expensive purchases, criminals often test whether the card details are still valid. They do this by making multiple low-value purchases across different online stores. These may only be a few bucks each, making them difficult to spot without smart monitoring. If successful, the same card is later used for much larger fraudulent purchases.
3. Friendly fraud and chargeback abuse
Not every chargeback is the result of criminal activity. Friendly fraud happens when a customer receives their order but later disputes the payment with their bank. Sometimes this is accidental because they don’t recognise the transaction on their bank statement. In other cases, it is a deliberate attempt to receive both the product and a refund. During Black Friday, when shoppers make numerous purchases across multiple retailers, friendly fraud becomes far more common.
4. Fake EFT proof of payment scams
Many South African businesses still accept manual EFT payments, especially for high-value purchases. Fraudsters exploit this by sending fake proof of payment (POPs) that appear real. Releasing goods before confirming that funds have cleared puts you at risk of losing both the product and the money. Rather than sharing your business banking details directly with customers, consider using secure payment links, QR codes, or other tokenised methods.
5. Account takeover and refund fraud
Fraudsters don’t always target payment cards directly. In some cases, they gain access to customer accounts using stolen usernames and passwords obtained through phishing or data breaches. Once inside an account, they may change delivery addresses, use stored payment methods, or request refunds to alternative bank accounts. Encouraging your customers to use strong passwords and enabling additional authentication where possible helps reduce this risk.
Fraud prevention settings to enable before Black Friday
Preventing fraud isn’t about relying on just one security feature. The most effective approach is to combine multiple layers of protection that work together to identify suspicious behaviour before a transaction is completed.
Before your Black Friday campaign launches, work through the following checklist.
1. Enable 3D Secure South Africa for card payments
One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce card fraud is to enable 3D Secure authentication. 3D Secure adds an extra verification step during checkout to confirm that the person making the purchase is the legitimate cardholder. Depending on the customer's bank, this may involve a one-time PIN (OTP), biometric verification, or approval via the banking app.
Although some merchants worry that additional authentication creates friction during checkout, the security benefits far outweigh the inconvenience. Using 3D Secure helps reduce fraudulent transactions and can provide extra protection against fraud-related chargebacks. If you're processing online card payments, this feature should always be enabled
2. Verify customer and payment information
Before approving high-risk orders, verify the customer’s payment details. Small inconsistencies can often be an early warning sign of fraud. Where available, use Address Verification Service (AVS) checks alongside standard security measures such as CVV verification to authenticate.
It’s also worth reviewing billing and delivery addresses, customer contact information, and email addresses for any unusual discrepancies. A mismatched order isn’t automatically fraudulent, but it should be reviewed before fulfilment to ensure the transaction is legitimate before fulfilment.
Address Verification Service (AVS) checks
Where available, AVS can help validate customer billing information by comparing details provided during checkout with information held by the card issuer (i.e., bank or financial institution). It is a key fraud-prevention tool against card fraud, primarily card-not-present fraud.
3. Configure velocity rules
Velocity rules help detect unusual purchasing behaviour automatically.
Partner with a provider whose platform can flag situations where:
- Multiple purchases are made within a few minutes
- Numerous payment attempts originate from the same IP address
- Several different cards are used on one customer account
- Multiple failed payment attempts occur before a successful transaction
- High-value purchases exceed predefined thresholds
Instead of manually monitoring every transaction, these automated rules can alert you to activity that deserves closer attention.
4. Make your refund policy clear and easy to find
A clear refund policy protects both your customers and your business. When buyers understand how returns, exchanges, and refunds are handled, they’re more likely to contact you directly rather than raise a chargeback with their bank.
Display your refund policy prominently on your website, link to it during checkout and post-sale confirmation, and explain your process in simple language. Setting expectations up front helps build trust and reduces unnecessary payment disputes during busy sales periods.
5. Use Netcash Risk Reports to prevent internal and external fraud
Fraud prevention doesn't begin or end with Black Friday; it’s a strategy you should employ year-round. Netcash Risk Reports can help verify customer, supplier, and banking information while supporting broader fraud-risk management processes.
Risk reports give you greater visibility into your staff, suppliers, and customers to help you make better financial decisions that will reduce fraud attempts from both internal and external sources.
6. Protect manual EFT payments
If you accept manual EFTs, take extra precautions during peak shopping periods, such as Black Friday. Where possible, use secure payment requests, payment links, QR code payments, or other controlled payment channels instead of sharing banking details manually, and never rely solely on a proof of payment document before releasing goods.
Always confirm that funds have cleared into your account before fulfilling an order. Using payment links and QR codes adds a layer of protection against payment fraud.
Want a payment process that automatically flags potential fraud?
See how Netcash Risk Reports gives you real-time insights into unusual transaction behaviour.
How to handle a chargeback
Even with strong fraud prevention measures in place, chargebacks can still occur. The important thing is to respond quickly and follow the correct process. A well-documented response gives you the best chance of resolving real disputes and identifying areas for payment improvement.
- Respond as soon as you're notified: As soon as you're notified by your payment provider or acquiring bank, review the reason for the dispute and start gathering the information you'll need. Delaying your response could result in the chargeback being automatically upheld, even if the transaction was legitimate.
- Gather supporting evidence: The stronger your evidence, the better your chances of successfully challenging an invalid chargeback. Depending on the nature of the dispute, useful documentation may include order confirmation emails, 3D Secure authentication records, or courier tracking details and proof of delivery. Keeping these records throughout the year makes responding to disputes much quicker during busy periods.
- Determine why the chargeback happened: Not every chargeback is a result of fraud. Before disputing the claim, identify the cause. Is it an unauthorised transaction, friendly fraud, merchant error, or customer dissatisfaction? Knowing the root cause helps you decide whether to challenge the chargeback or resolve it directly with the customer.
- Learn from every dispute: Every chargeback provides valuable insight into your payment process. Review post-Black Friday dispute trends to spot recurring issues.
Review your fraud security controls after Black Friday
Black Friday may only last a few days, but the lessons you learn should shape your fraud strategy for the rest of the festive season.
Taking time to review your payment activity helps you identify what worked well, where vulnerabilities exist, and how your business can be better prepared for future sales events.
- Analyse fraud trends: Look for recurring patterns, such as specific products that attracted fraudulent purchases, specific times when attacks increased, or common characteristics of disputed transactions.
- Review declined transactions: Analysing them helps you distinguish between genuine customers experiencing payment issues and suspicious activity that your fraud controls have correctly blocked.
- Identify recurring attack methods: Understanding the methods used against your business makes it easier to prepare for future attacks and prioritise the security measures that will have the greatest impact.
- Adjust fraud settings before festive trading continues: Use what you've learned to update your fraud rules, transaction limits, authentication settings, and manual review processes before Christmas shopping reaches its peak.
- Update internal procedures: Review your internal processes for order fulfilment, customer verification, refunds, and payment confirmations. Ensure every team member understands how to handle suspicious transactions and when to perform additional checks.
- Train customer support teams using lessons learned: Share examples of scams encountered during Black Friday and provide guidance on identifying warning signs, verifying customer information, and quickly escalating suspicious cases.
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FAQs about how to prevent fraud on Black Friday in South Africa
Online payments fraud prevention on Black Friday with Netcash
Black Friday presents a valuable opportunity to increase online sales, attract new customers, and end the year on a high note. But the excitement of higher order volumes shouldn't come at the expense of payment security.
By enabling 3D Secure, verifying customer information, monitoring payment activity, preventing chargebacks, and regularly reviewing your fraud controls, you can protect your business against many common online payment threats. A layered approach to fraud prevention not only safeguards your revenue but also builds customer confidence during busy Black Friday.
With Netcash, you have access to secure online payment solutions designed to help South African businesses process transactions with confidence. From advanced payment security features to reports that provide greater visibility into transaction activity, Netcash gives you the tools to reduce fraud without compromising the checkout experience.
Whether you're preparing for your first Black Friday campaign or strengthening your existing fraud strategy, investing in the right payment partner can make all the difference.
Ready to protect your online store this Black Friday?
Contact Netcash to discover secure payment solutions that help you reduce fraud, minimise chargebacks, and sell with confidence throughout the festive season.
Author:
Kaylin Sampson
Payment Advisor
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Kaylin is a dedicated Payments Advisor at Netcash, South Africa’s premier payment solutions provider. With a deep understanding of Netcash’s services, he expertly guides customers on Debit Orders, Salary and Creditor payments, Pay Now, eCommerce, and Risk Reports. Brent plays a vital role in helping businesses and organisations streamline their payments, providing cost-effective solutions that have a meaningful impact on our clients’ financial operations.
