Old Mutual deepfake scam warning

Old Mutual has warned the public about a highly sophisticated investment scam currently circulating on Facebook and possibly other social media platforms using AI generated, fake likeness of the insurer’s chairman, Trevor Manuel.

The insurer said in a statment that it strongly condemn these tactics designed to scam the public out of their hard-earned money and want to send a passionate warning to the public not to fall victim to these scams.

It also shared a statement from Manuel regarding the situation. This statement is below, in full.

Statement by Old Mutual Chairman Trevor Manuel

It has come to my attention that there are social media posts using my image, and artificial voice and pretending to either give people investment advice or requesting that they invest in products that I advise them to. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can easily be used by bad people.

I say without fear that those images are fraudulent. I do not give investment advice to anybody. It would be illegal to do so.

There is a law, the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS) that was passed in 2002, when I was still the Minister of Finance.

The act stipulates that only qualified people can offer investment advice. Any person wanting to offer such advice must be registered and have a current and valid registration certificate. I do not possess such certificate. 

Similarly, any investment product must be with a reputable company and should have a certificate from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

If it’s not certified, my plea is that people do not engage with it. The old saying, if it looks too good to be true, it is likely to be too good to be true.

Too many people have lost their hard-earned money, especially what they’ve saved for later in life, stolen by crooks. I plead with you to protect your nest egg.

Take the time ask the questions and insist on seeing the proof.

Please protect yourself!

Old Mutual urged individuals to follow the below steps to protect themselves from fraudsters and identity thieves –

Check that the apps you download from the App Store are verified and legitimate. 

• Check and verify all requests for personal information and only share information when you are 100% sure there is a legitimate reason to do so.
• Never share login details such as passwords or banking pins with anyone. Old Mutual will never contact you to ask for your username or password.
• Always use a strong password that contains letters, numbers and symbols and change it regularly.
• Apply multi-factor authentication on all accounts, where possible.
• Do not share too much information about your life on social media and use privacy settings.
• If you encounter any suspicious messages or have concerns, please report it to [email protected]

“We take the protection of all customer information seriously as we continually review and strengthen our security controls,” the insurer said.

“The public is urged to remain vigilant and always report suspicious get-rich-quick schemes, which often appear more prevalent as we move closer to the holiday season.  We encourage you to remain alert.”