Most of us in the financial sector have had family members who fell for a scam of some sort. The picture below is a ‘deep fake’ of Elon Musk supposedly endorsing an online trading platform called Quantum AI. Of course, Elon’s doing nothing of the sort.
There are hundreds of videos on Youtube of people telling their scam stories. An old lady from Canada getting scammed out of $750k after believing she was investing in Elon Musk’s company only to find out she had unwittingly downloaded remote access software that gave the scammers full access to her computer – and her bank account.
It’s rather hard to believe that someone would fall for this and allow strangers access to one’s computer and bank account – but it happens all over the world and all the time.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority tells Moneyweb that it has opened more than 250 scam investigations just since April 2025. The common ones are “romance scams” where lonely women (or men) fall for some sweetheart online and build up a relationship over weeks and months. Then comes the sudden and unexpected emergency. The sweetheart is involved in an accident and needs an urgent transfer of funds (having left his cards back at home or some such story). It’s all very convincing.
The cruelty and heartlessness of these scammers is something to behold. In another case, they sucked the pension savings of a retired person until they were penniless. They may use crypto as a way to transfer funds, but not always. They will convince you that they are representatives from a legitimate crypto exchange like Luno and get you to invest with them.
No-one at Luno is using a Gmail address. Most people will not fall for this, but enough do.
The person who reported this to us is a geologist and highly educated. He fell for an investment scam, thinking he was dealing with Luno. Of course, he wasn’t. He invested more than R700k, starting with a small amount of R4,500 which grew miraculously into R20k within a month, all faithfully recorded on a legitimate-looking dashboard operated by the scammers. They convince you that you are getting rich. The figures on the dashboard look real. The image below is generated by a scammer with the real Luno logo, trying to entice our victim to pay over “taxes” so that he can get his funds released. This is just another scam. His funds have been lost.
When it comes to withdrawing money, the scammers have a better idea: Why not put another R20k into the scheme and let that grow to R100k in a month?
And so it goes on until they have taken all your cash, and some borrowings, to pay over to the scammers. When you absolutely insist you want to withdraw funds, you will be hit with all sorts of “fees” that must be paid: SA Revenue Services taxes (as if any investment firm is required to pay taxes on your behalf), or “lift holding fees”, “admin fees” – the list goes on.
When you get upset, the scammers never lose their cool. They remain engaged. Every upset is an opportunity to milk you for more. It’s inconceivable that anyone could be so cruel and evil, but apparently there are such people. They present you within one final “hurdle” that must be crossed before you get your promised riches. Then comes another one. Even if you have to borrow, you will find the R32,000 “taxes” they swear must be paid over the SARS before you can get your funds.
Bottom line
- If the deal looks too good to be true, assume it is – and run.
- If a famous person is flogging some investment scheme, assume it is AI – and run.
- If you want to own some crypto such as bitcoin, do it through a legitimate exchange like 80eight. Start small and learn the market before you put more in.
Contact 80eight. If making or moving money (including bitcoin or stablecoins) is your game, we’ve got you covered. Let us guide you on your journey to debt-free prosperity. If you’re a business, let us explain how you can hedge your USD exposure in the most cost-effective way possible.
