Deepfake investment scam targets South African billionaire

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned the public against accepting financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from Gold Earnings Hub and Africa Gold Capital, two firms found to be using deepfakes to secure investment.
According to the FSCA, the two firms aren’t authorised to provide financial services and have used deepfake images and videos featuring prominent figures like Africa Rainbow Minerals (ARM) executive chairman Patrice Motsepe.
The deepfake videos impersonating Motsepe promote the investments offered by Gold Earnings Hub and Africa Gold Capital.
“The videos appear to be fraudulent deepfake videos. ARM has confirmed that neither it nor Dr Motsepe have any association or relationship with Gold Earnings and Africa Gold,” the FSCA said in a statement.
“ARM and Dr Motsepe have condemned the actions of Gold Earnings and Africa Gold and are considering civil and/or criminal action.”
To avoid unnecessary risk, the FSCA is urging the public not to accept financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from entities it doesn’t authorise, including Gold Earnings and Africa Gold.
For those unsure, it notes that authorised financial services providers must display their authorisation status in their documentation.
“If this is not present, it is advised to further investigate before making any payments,” the FSCA said.
It also warned that the number of fraudulent schemes is rising in South Africa, and residents lose millions yearly to such operations.
Unfortunately, some illegal investment schemes may appear legitimate, making the identification of warning signs crucial.
“Key red flags include promises of unrealistic returns and claims that an FSCA licence is unnecessary,” the FSCA said.
It recommends that the public verify the following before making any payments:
- That an organisation or individual is FCSA authorised;
- The category of advice the person or organisation is registered to provide; and
- The financial services provider number used by the individual or organisation must match the provider’s name on the FSCA’s database.

Deepfakes go South African
In late March 2023, a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) showed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the nation, announcing plans to demolish the Voortrekker Monument and the Loftus Versfeld rugby stadium.
The premise was that demolishing these landmarks would make way for “large-scale diesel generators”.
However, many South Africans may have noticed something strange about the way Ramaphosa appeared and spoke in the video, and there was a reason for that: it was faked.
Unlike his previous “family meetings”, Ramaphosa appeared static in the video, with his face and body barely moving as he spoke. His voice and accent also sounded strange.
Disinformation researcher Jean le Roux said the voice was likely creased using “one of the AI voice skinning tools available on TikTok”, which he noted would struggle with a South African accent.
In November 2023, videos impersonating SABC news anchor Francis Herd and Elon Musk were posted to YouTube and Facebook, advertising a fraudulent investment scheme using deepfakes.
One of the videos began with Herd’s deepfake, saying, “Elon Musk’s project has scared the government and big banks. He has come with a secret investment that has made hundreds of people very rich”.
Those familiar with Herd’s voice would have realised it wasn’t her speaking, but casual news viewers may not have caught onto the deception.
Following the introduction from Herd’s AI doppelganger, the video cuts to a deepfake Musk announcing a “powerful, world-first investment software” to a room full of people.
The video claimed that participants could make R30,000 or more on day one. The claims of a 538% daily return and 6,283% monthly yield were a dead giveaway that the video was a scam.
No one can promise returns like this — not even Elon Musk.