In a major step forward for financial security, young tech innovator Olwethu Mabena has created a groundbreaking AI-powered, real-time fraud detection tool that defends banking fraud victims against the rising scourge of express kidnappings.

The new system, Adaptive Response Threat Fabric (ARTF), helps detect attacks, where victims are kidnapped or hijacked and then coerced by criminals to make multiple withdrawals at ATMs.

South Africa has been experiencing a sharp increase in express kidnappings, where victims are abducted and forced to withdraw or transfer money from their bank accounts.

Banks find it hard to detect these attacks in real time, leaving victims penniless and traumatised.

National police and independent analysts have reported a spike in kidnappings over recent years. According to latest figures, there were more than 17 000 kidnappings in the 2023/24 period, up by approximately 264% compared to a decade ago. This works out to an average of roughly 42 to 50 kidnappings per day.

A large share of these kidnappings are express kidnappings — quick abductions during carjackings or robberies where victims are forced to withdraw cash or transfer money under duress. In some provinces like Gauteng, up to 80% of kidnapping incidents are express-style with victims held for hours or a day to extract funds.

How The Tool Works

The fraud detection solution, ARFT, that Mabena created is designed to combat this crime, which is increasingly afflicting South Africans. The tool has artificial intelligence (AI) that verifies the customer’s face. This feature has the ability to scan for facial indicators that detect when a customer is under duress like unusual twitching of eyes.

Another key feature of ARFT is the ability to instantly block transactions once it finds any signs of fraudulent or suspicious activity.

Once the system detects fraudulent or suspicious activity, it automatically requests facial verification before unblocking transactions. By automating incident response and blocking suspicious transactions within seconds, Mabena’s solution offers a powerful new layer of defence against financial loss.

“I totally believe that this technology can be applied in the banking sector. The sector loses millions every quarter due to this type of fraud. It is currently unable to detect it nor mitigate it,” explains Mabena.

Express kidnappings is one of many pervasive financial crimes that the banking sector has to contend with. Other scams like identity theft and payment fraud continue to be on the rise worldwide. Recent industry reports show AI’s role in risk management and fraud prevention is expanding rapidly, as institutions seek smarter solutions to stem losses and protect customers.

Mabena, who hails from Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, believes her solution could also be applied in other sectors, where its principles and AI features could be used to flag and prevent other types of fraud.

“This solution is worth commercialising,” she says.

Tool Already Getting Peer Recognition

Mabena’s invention has not gone unnoticed. The Eduvos IT graduate recently received an accolade at the Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC), hosted by Telkom.

The conference also announced winners of SATNAC’s innovation competition, which attracted more than 235 students from 84 local tertiary academic institutions. Mabena emerged as the winner of SATNAC Innovator of the Year Award for 2025.

The judges of the competition also picked her as the winner of the SATNAC Industry Solutions Challenge People's Choice Innovation Award, underscoring how impressive her cutting-edge cybersecurity solution is.

Another innovator that caught the eyes of the judges is Masibonge Shabalala. She walked away with the Judges Distinction Award.

Shabalala created Telkom SMART-NET, an AI-powered 5G network intelligence platform designed to make Telkom’s network predictive rather than reactive. The platform continuously analyses data from network performance, energy systems, and security signals to detect early warning signs of failure, security threats, or inefficiencies.

From a 5G and Beyond perspective, SMART-NET introduces intelligent network slicing. This allows critical services such as healthcare and education to be prioritised during congestion, ensuring ultra-reliable connectivity of up to 99.999% uptime, even when the network is under strain.

Shabalala, who is completing her Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Johannesburg next year, says she was touched by the judges’ feedback to her innovation.

“They highlighted that I had taken the time to truly understand Telkom’s infrastructure and the realities of operating a large network in South Africa, from load shedding and security challenges to service reliability,” she notes.

Dr. Mmaki Jantjies, Telkom’s Group Executive for Innovation & Transformation, says she is impressed by the high calibre of solutions that were showcased at this year’s SATNAC competition.

"This competition is a testament to our belief that by investing in homegrown talent, we are building Africa's capacity to solve its own problems and lead its own digital ascent," Jantjies concludes.

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