The ugly face of deepfake fraud - Daily Maverick
Deepfake scams in South Africa are using AI-generated videos to impersonate business leaders and celebrities, promoting fake investment platforms and targeting traders.
- Incident date
- May 2026
- Target
- Patrice Motsepe, Leanne Manas, Cyril Ramaphosa, Paul Mashatile
Deepfake fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated, moving beyond simple scams to incorporate AI-generated videos that impersonate well-known figures. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued warnings about these scams, which target South African traders using deepfake videos of business leaders, officials, and TV personalities to promote fake investment platforms.
What happened
Scammers are using AI-generated video manipulations to impersonate Patrice Motsepe, Leanne Manas, President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Deputy President Paul Mashatile. These deepfakes promote fake investment platforms, often promising significant daily returns from small investments. These tactics involve hijacking the names, faces, and credibility of trusted institutions and individuals, making due diligence more important than ever for traders. Old Mutual has also warned about scams where fraudsters impersonate senior executives to mislead potential victims.