Momentum Group, has warned that scammers are using fake videos to scam people
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One of South Africa's largest financial services companies, Momentum Group, has warned that scammers are using fake videos, messages, and social media profiles to pose as the company and its employees to trick people into fake investment schemes.
The scammers reportedly use popular platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram to target unsuspecting South Africans.
According to Ravi Govender, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Momentum, the scammers are leveraging highly convincing manipulated content to promote fraudulent investment schemes.
“Alarmingly, the manipulated content looks or sounds realistically life-like, making it increasingly difficult for the public to differentiate between what is real and likely versus fake,” Govender said, according to the Daily Investor.
Govender further cautioned that while AI has had a positive impact, scammers are increasingly misusing it to create realistic deepfakes for fraudulent schemes.
Govender urged consumers to educate themselves and remain vigilant to avoid falling victim.
He also revealed that earlier this year, a deepfake video of retired businessman and former Momentum board member Laurie Dippenaar was circulated on WhatsApp and Facebook, asking people to invest.
"The threats are everywhere, and we urge consumers to educate themselves and to be constantly vigilant not to get caught out. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and we urge both current and potential clients to seek advice from a financial adviser before depositing their hard-earned money into these schemes,” he said.
IOL also previously reported that the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) has noted an increase in scammers using advanced artificial intelligence (AI), which has resulted in many individuals losing millions of rands
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