Case fsca-kamlana-deepfake-nedbankDeepfake fraudSouth Africa
FSCA warns of WhatsApp deepfake of its commissioner pushing fake Nedbank AI trading tool
South Africa's FSCA flagged a WhatsApp deepfake in which Commissioner Unathi Kamlana appears to endorse an NBSG or Nedbank Securities AI trading tool promising 20 to 30 percent higher returns.
MediumAttack using AIStatus: UnresolvedVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- May 9, 2025
- Location
- South Africa
- Target
- South African retail investors; FSCA and Nedbank brands
- Severity
- Medium
- Triggered by
- Unknown
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
South Africa's FSCA flagged a WhatsApp deepfake in which Commissioner Unathi Kamlana appears to endorse an NBSG or Nedbank Securities AI trading tool promising 20 to 30 percent higher returns.
Impact: Reputational misuse of the regulator and Nedbank; number of victims and losses not disclosed.
Who triggered it
Actor: Unknown
Attribution: No suspects named; FSCA described a marked rise in AI-generated impersonators of licensed providers and prominent South Africans.
Motive: Lure investors into a fraudulent trading platform.
How it happened
Attack vector: AI-generated video of the regulator's commissioner with Nedbank branding distributed via WhatsApp and Facebook groups, following a similar J532-NBSG scam the previous month.
Root cause: Public footage of officials enables cheap voice and face cloning; messaging platforms offer little pre-publication screening.
Timeline
- FSCA flags earlier J532-NBSG scam on Facebook and WhatsApp
- FSCA warns public about deepfake of Commissioner Kamlana
Response
Public warning to disregard the video and verify providers via FSCA channels; Momentum Group issued parallel warnings.
Current status: Unresolved
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Business Report businessreport.co.za
- Cape Argus capeargus.co.za
- Daily Investor dailyinvestor.com
Cite this case
FSCA warns of WhatsApp deepfake of its commissioner pushing fake Nedbank AI trading tool. AI Threat Watch, case fsca-kamlana-deepfake-nedbank, May 9, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/fsca-kamlana-deepfake-nedbank/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/fsca-kamlana-deepfake-nedbank/