Cyril Ramaphosa scam warning in South Africa

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned about several unauthorised financial platforms using deep fakes of the South African president and deputy president to convince people to invest.

It notes that the platforms in question are believed to offer unrealistic returns of between R13,000 and R17,000 per day, for an investment of R4,500.

However, the FSCA says that the individuals behind the scam are not authorised by any financial sector law to provide financial services to the public.

The regulator says that deepfakes of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, businessman Dr. Patrice Motsepe, and news presenter Leanne Manas are being shown to investors.

“In one of the deep fake videos, Dr. Motsepe is seen promoting the investments offered via the investment platform,” the FSCA said.

“Mr. Mashatile is seen confirming that the platform is authorised and that investors will receive returns.”

It noted that Ramaphosa is seen in another video promoting investments and guaranteed claims, similar to Mashatile.

The financial regulator emphasised that South Africans must not accept financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from individuals and entities not authorised by it.

The FSCA says financial service providers (FSPs) will display their authorisation status in their documentation. If this is not evident, investors should investigate further before making payments.

Investors should also exercise great caution when considering trading or investment offers on social media platforms and any other non-solicited offers, the watchdog says.

To avoid unnecessary risk, the FSCA encourages the public to verify:

• That the FSCA authorises an entity or individual to provide financial products and services, including giving recommendations about how to invest.
• What category of advice the person is registered to provide. This is because there are instances where people and entities registered to advise on a low-risk product provide counsel on far more complex matters.
• That the FSP number utilised by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA database.

The public can call the FSCA’s toll-free number, 0800110443, to verify the status and FSP number of a service provider or person who claims to be authorised.

Additionally, this can be done by searching for the financial institution by license category or by searching the database for entities that are authorised FSPs under the FAIS Act.

Deepfakes are nothing new

The use of deepfakes to legitimise investment scams and entice investors to pour their money into phoney platforms is nothing new in South Africa.

In late 2023, Internet advertisements featuring SABC news Anchor Francis Herd circulated on Facebook and YouTube, touting an investment project allegedly started by Elon Musk.

One of the videos on YouTube opened with Herd’s deepfake saying, “Elon Musk’s project has scared government and big banks. He has come up with a secret investment that has made hundreds of people very rich.”

The video used the SABC News branding and, in overlay text at the bottom of the screen, stated: “Everyone who invests R4700 can earn R300,000 per month”.

The inconsistencies in number formats are quoted verbatim.

The video then switched to a deepfake Elon Musk, who was shown announcing a “powerful, world-first investment software” to a room full of people.

Herd soon confirmed on Twitter that the videos were fake and asked people to report them wherever possible.

A few months later, deepfakes of Professor Kgomotso Mathabe — head of urology at the University of Pretoria — were used by scammers to promote “male potency” products.

Then, in January 2025, a deepfake of Patrice Motsepe was used to promote the investments offered by Gold Earnings Hub and Africa Gold Capital. 

According to the FSCA, the two firms were not authorised to provide financial services.

Momentum Group financial director Risto Ketola has since warned South Africans to be wary of deepfake and invite-only WhatsApp group scams impersonating high-profile people.

He also warned of artificial intelligence (AI) technology being used to create convincing deepfakes of high-profile individuals to scam people.

“Sometimes it is just simple online or WhatsApp scams. Sometimes it’s very advanced AI technology,” said Ketola.

“We see people using AI technology to create voice notes from famous people, even some videos. The videos aren’t that great, but they’re getting better over time. Be vigilant.”