Old Mutual scam warning
Old Mutual has issued a warning about a highly sophisticated investment scam circulating on social media and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp that is impersonating its Group CEO.
The scam falsely uses the company’s logo as well as names and images of real employees, including senior executives and the Old Mutual Group CEO, Jurie Strydom, to create a misleading sense of credibility.
It is positioned as a high-return, AI-powered investment opportunity, and Old Mutual said it appeared to be driven by a well-coordinated syndicate.
Old Mutual advised the public to take precautionary measures to protect themselves from identity thieves.
These include checking that the apps downloaded from smartphone app stores are verified and legitimate.
The financial institution also cautioned people to check and verify all requests for personal information and only share such particulars when completely sure there is a legitimate reason to do so.
“Never share login details such as passwords or banking pins with anyone. Remember, Old Mutual will never contact you to ask for your username or password,” it stated.
Usual security hygiene continues to apply, such as always using a unique, strong password that contains letters, numbers and symbols.
Password managers can help users maintain unique passwords on the various platforms they need them for.
Old Mutual also advised that people change their passwords regularly and use multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
“Do not share too much information about your life on social media and use privacy settings,” it stated.
“We take the protection of all customer information seriously as we continually review and strengthen our security controls. Vigilance and awareness are key in the fight against this form of crime. We encourage you to remain alert.”
Old Mutual said that the syndicate it believes is attempting to use its brand and reputation to scam people has already targeted several major financial institutions.
Momentum, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Patrice Motsepe deepfakes
Momentum Group financial director Risto Ketola also recently warned South Africans to be wary of deepfake and invite-only WhatsApp group scams impersonating high-profile people.
Ketola said he was impersonated through one such WhatsApp Group scam, and said he struggled to have the group taken down.
“In my case, it was just a WhatsApp Group where people took my photo from LinkedIn and created a closed group where they invited people.”
WhatsApp groups created to scam people frequently have their message permissions set to admin-only, meaning members cannot send messages in the group to warn others of the scam.
“I can’t join the group and warn people, and even if people phoned me and I told them it was a fake, they can’t put messages there,” said Ketola.
He 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.”
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) also recently warned about scammers using deepfakes of various prominent individuals to trick people into placing their money into fake investments.
It said scammers created deepfake videos of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, businessman Patrice Motsepe, and news presenter Leanne Manas.
“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.”
Ramaphosa is seen in another video promoting investments and guaranteed returns, similar to Mashatile.
The FSCA emphasised that South Africans must not accept financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from individuals and entities not authorised by it — including the President.
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