The old digital scam often announced itself.

The spelling was poor. The greeting was generic. The logo looked as though it had been copied from a photocopy of a photocopy. A mysterious prince promised millions, while an alleged bank official wrote from an email address no bank would ever use.

Artificial intelligence has not invented fraud. It has removed many of its obvious fingerprints.

A scammer can now produce a polished bank email in seconds, translate it into natural isiZulu and personalise it with information collected from social media or stolen databases. AI can imitate the voice of a relative, generate a video of a trusted public figure and operate a chatbot capable of answering a victim’s questions.

The technology has made deception cheaper, faster and more convincing.

South Africans are particularly exposed because banking, tax administration, shopping and communication have moved rapidly online. We are accustomed to receiving legitimate notifications from banks, SARS, delivery companies and service providers. The criminal does not need to invent an unfamiliar process. He merely needs to enter an existing one and imitate it convincingly.

A typical banking scam begins with fear. The victim receives a call about suspicious activity on an account. The caller already knows the victim’s name, bank and perhaps part of an identity number. The number displayed on the screen may even appear to belong to the bank.

The victim is then told that immediate action is required. A one-time PIN must be shared. A notification must be approved. Money must be moved into a supposedly secure account.

There is no secure account. The urgency is manufactured to prevent thought.

AI improves this method by allowing criminals to craft more natural conversations and target victims more intelligently. A scammer no longer needs to send the same clumsy message to everyone. Different stories can be produced for pensioners, business owners, taxpayers and young people interested in cryptocurrency.

SARS scams exploit a different emotion: anticipation. During filing season, taxpayers expect assessments, penalties and refunds. A message promising a substantial refund therefore arrives within a believable context. The link opens a page carrying the SARS logo and familiar colours. The victim enters banking or eFiling information into what appears to be an official form.

The façade may be sophisticated. The rule remains simple. SARS says it will never request passwords, banking PINs, one-time PINs or eFiling credentials through email, SMS, social media or telephone.

Investment scams exploit hope rather than fear. Deepfake videos can place fabricated words in the mouths of respected businesspeople, politicians and celebrities. Fake trading platforms display imaginary profits to persuade victims to invest more. AI-generated testimonials create crowds of people who do not exist, all claiming to have become wealthy.

The scam succeeds because it arrives dressed in authority.

Our old advice therefore needs to change. Looking for spelling mistakes is no longer enough. Hearing a familiar voice is no longer proof of identity. Seeing a person speaking in a video is no longer evidence that the person said those words. Even the number displayed on a phone cannot always be trusted.

Verification must become procedural rather than instinctive.

If a bank calls, end the call and contact it through the number on its official app or the back of the card. If SARS sends a message, open eFiling independently rather than following the supplied link. Never share an OTP, PIN or password. Read every banking notification before approving it. Families should also consider a private verification word for emergencies involving money.

Most importantly, resist urgency. Fraud needs the victim to act before thinking. A legitimate institution will survive a few minutes of independent verification.

AI has made the performance more convincing, but the criminal still needs one human action: a click, a disclosure, an approval or a payment.

That pause before action is now one of the strongest security systems we have.