South African Reserve Bank warns public about deepfake investment scam
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a warning to the public after a deepfake video surfaced online
Image: SA Reserve Bank.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a warning to the public after a deepfake video surfaced online, falsely portraying Governor Lesetja Kganyago promoting a so-called investment opportunity.
The video features Kganyago with a digitally altered voice, encouraging viewers to invest money through a suspicious platform.
According to reports, deepfake-related fraud cases have surged by 1,200% in South Africa, as scammers use AI technology to impersonate public figures and trick people into handing over money.
“We’re a very digitally orientated country, with internet penetration at about 79%, over 50 million users, and 124 million mobile connections. That gives rise to exploitation,” Amritha Reddy, Senior Director of Fraud Product Management at TransUnion, said in an interview with Hot 102 FM.
“Social media is also thriving, with about 27 million users. It’s the access, the availability, and the modern times that are allowing this type of threat to be so amplified.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Reserve Bank described the video featuring Kganyago as fake and called on the South African public to always be careful before trusting content shared online.
"BEWARE OF DEEPFAKES! A video is circulating online showing the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor speaking about an investment opportunity, but the voice is fake," the bank posted.
The bank added that deepfake scams are mostly created to mislead and defraud people, emphasising that it does not promote or request money transfers.
"Deepfake scams are designed to mislead and defraud. The SARB does not promote investments or request money transfers".
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