It seems no one is safe – not even some of South Africa’s most trusted financial institutions and industry leaders.
In just the past week, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority has issued multiple warnings against a string of fraudulent schemes involving impersonation, fake investment platforms, and unauthorised financial activities.
The scams share a worrying pattern: fraudsters posing as well-known financial firms or executives, using platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp to solicit funds, and promising unrealistic investment returns. In some cases, scammers have even claimed to be regulated by the FSCA itself – a tactic used to create a false sense of legitimacy.
These warnings underscore how important it is for consumers and intermediaries alike to verify every financial interaction. Even experienced investors can be misled when scammers hijack familiar names, legitimate FSP numbers, or company branding.
Alexander Forbes and its CEO Impersonated on Telegram
The FSCA has warned that individuals are impersonating Alexander Forbes Financial Planning Consultants (Pty) Ltd and its chief executive, Dawie de Villiers, on Telegram.
According to the regulator, these individuals are soliciting investments by pretending to represent the well-known financial services provider.
Alexander Forbes confirmed that neither the company nor its CEO conducts any business through Telegram, and they are not linked to these individuals.
The FSCA added that the administrators of the Telegram group are not authorised under any financial sector law to offer financial services and have not responded to its enquiries.
Altvest Capital and CEO’s identities misused
In a similar case, the FSCA cautioned against individuals claiming an association with Altvest Capital Solutions and its chief executive, Warren Wheatley, on Telegram.
Altvest Capital, a juristic representative of CAEP Asset Managers (FSP 33933), confirmed it has no connection with the Telegram group in question and does not transact via social media or messaging platforms.
The FSCA said the individuals involved could not be contacted and are not authorised to render financial services.
Capitec’s FSP number used in fraudulent scheme
The FSCA also drew attention to David Sean, who has allegedly been using Capitec Bank Limited’s FSP number (46669) to solicit investments through a WhatsApp group.
Capitec confirmed it has no association with Sean.
Although the FSCA will not comment on Sean’s business model, it stated he is not authorised to provide any financial services and failed to respond to the regulator’s enquiries.
Quantum Wins: ‘guaranteed profits’ raise red flags
The FSCA warned the public against engaging with an online platform called Quantum Wins, which claims to trade in cryptocurrencies on behalf of investors and promises guaranteed profits.
According to the FSCA, members of the public were encouraged to deposit funds into crypto wallets but were later unable to access their money.
Quantum Wins’ website falsely claims compliance with the FSCA’s regulations. The FSCA clarified that the entity is not authorised to provide any financial services in South Africa and could not be reached for comment.
Fake WhatsApp groups claiming to represent Avior Capital Markets
The Authority further cautioned against WhatsApp groups, mobile applications, and social media accounts falsely claiming association with Avior Capital Markets (Pty) Ltd, a legitimate JSE-member firm.
According to the FSCA, fraudsters are impersonating Avior Capital Markets staff, including executive managing director Kevin Mattison, and using unauthorised platforms such as Aarai and Gavior AI to solicit investments.
Avior Capital Markets has confirmed it has no official mobile application, and these accounts are fraudulent.
Exness ZA targeted by Telegram and WhatsApp impersonators
Individuals posing as representatives of Exness ZA (Pty) Ltd (FSP 51024) have been using Telegram and WhatsApp groups to lure investors, according to the FSCA.
Exness confirmed it does not conduct business through these channels.
The FSCA noted that the administrators of the groups are not authorised under financial sector law to render financial services and have ignored its enquiries.
Impersonation of 27Four Investment Managers and its managing director
The FSCA also issued a warning about a Telegram group named “LeaderFatima_Vawda”, which falsely claims an affiliation with 27Four Investment Managers (Pty) Ltd (FSP 31045) and its managing director, Fatima Vawda.
According to the FSCA, the group’s administrators are impersonating Vawda and promising unrealistic investment returns.
27Four confirmed it has no business relationship with this group and does not operate via Telegram.
The FSCA stated that the group’s administrators are unauthorised and have failed to respond to its enquiries.
Cuthman Capital COO’s identity misused
The FSCA has warned against individuals using Telegram accounts to impersonate Cuthman Capital (Pty) Ltd (FSP 51205) and its chief operating officer, Thandi Wille.
According to the Authority, the impersonators are attempting to mislead the public by claiming association with the company.
Cuthman Capital confirmed it has no link to the Telegram accounts, which include handles such as @leadership_THANDI_WILLIE01, @leadership_THANDI_WILLIE02, @leadership_Thandi_Wille, and @DIRECTOR_TOBIE_LOCHNER.
The FSCA said these individuals have not responded to its enquiries.
FSCA warns against Joash Naidoo’s copy trading claims
The FSCA cautioned against Joash Naidoo, who is reportedly soliciting funds from the public by offering copy trading and forex trading signals, with promises of exceptionally high returns – for example, turning R1 000 into R16 000 within 24 hours.
Naidoo has allegedly claimed an association with TD Markets (Pty) Ltd (FSP 49128), which has confirmed it has no connection with him.
The FSCA reiterated that Naidoo is not authorised to provide financial services and has not responded to its attempts to make contact.
Think before you invest: spot the scam before it’s too late
To avoid unnecessary risk, the public should never accept financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from individuals or entities not authorised by the FSCA. Legitimate financial services providers must clearly display their authorisation status in their documentation – if it’s missing, take extra caution before making any payments.
Fraudsters are on the rise, and South Africans lose millions of rands every year to scams. Some illegal operations are cleverly disguised as legitimate businesses.
The FSCA warns the public to watch out for red flags when approached with investment opportunities, including:
- Unrealistic or exaggerated returns
- Offers via social media
- Upfront payments for services
- Requests for additional payments to release your funds
- Charges for training or learning packages
- Pressure to act urgently
- Vague or unclear information about the investment product
To verify if a person or business is authorised as a financial services provider (FSP), contact the FSCA toll-free at 0800 110 443 or check online: FSCA FSP Search.
Suspicious activity can be reported to the FSCA via the Ethics and Fraud Hotline at 0800 313 626, by email at fsca@behonest.co.za, or online at www.behonest.co.za.
I am the latest victim of a huge scam involving JP Morgan and Mr David Aserkoff. The platform being used is JPMM DP. They claim to have been registered with the FSCA but nowhere on the app does it show the registration number. They are using something called discounted stocks which promise very high returns in a matter of 3 to 5 days. The app also has an AI section were you can subscribe for between 3 to 15 days which earns you daily profits from 2% to 8% with absolutely no risk or work involved. They have a WhatsApp study group of so called “High net worth individuals”. As soon as I tried asking questions on the group about the legitimacy of the group I was blocked and removed from the group.
This is really quite confusing. I’ve been using the JPMM DP platform for about two years, and every withdrawal has been processed smoothly without any issues. It seems that you may have violated the platform’s rules or have a negative record.
Hello sis Pearl, I was under the impression that the JPMM DP platform was launched on 20th October 2025. About a week or two before then I joined the Wealth Study whatsapp group. I invested and my 1st withdrawal was hassle free. Then there is a loan problem where I had to pay in R70k. Then withdrawal failed due to bank channel maintenance. I was advised to wait or change bank card, I changed the card and was told the account no is incorrect and I have to deposit 50% for acc verification. They refuse to use the normal Bank confirmation letter to verify the bank acc.
What negative record Peart as these are things that are not disclosed when you deposit your money or they advise you to buy the discounted stock?
They advice you to buy discount stocks and they don’t disclosed all these terms and conditions when depositing . They will even advise you to take their loan that is interest free knowing that they will take from your profit. When is time to withdraw you will be told you can’t you need to pay from your bank and if you don’t pay they will tell you that you will be taken to court. Then pay after that they will tell you that the account you linked is incorrect pay the 50% of the withdrawal amount in order to withdraw your funds . But just know you won’t get your money
I am also a victim of this scam ive lost close to 600k . Lured by a group JPMM wealth group study group. Same man David Asherkoff. I apparently have 3.8 million rands in my account but owe them 700k in a system loan. I was part of a group with 64 members, I have all the account numbers and the chats saved for reference. Today I called JP MORGAN IN THE US AND EUROPE. They are investigating however all I need is here wrt to the scam. I asked why can they not just withdraw the loan amnt from the funds and make the rest accessible. This is not an option. They have all my personal details so I am really scared. I have not been blocked or removed as yet so I just hid the chat and feel.like a fool.
I have the same problem. They want repayment before releasing my funds. I have no way of withdrawing my capital.
What can we do?
We are also victoms of the JPMM DP Platfform.
Unable to withdraw ourcapital they want more money, before you can withdraw, but who is to say, they will unblock you funds.
Huge huge scam
I’m also a victim of the same scam when I wanted to withdraw by mistake I put the wrong account and was told to deposit 50% of withdrawal amount in order to withdraw it where I notice it a scam
I don’t think you punched in the incorrect acc no. There must be a way they’re changing the numbers. In my case they say I punched 1 instead of 0. Looking at the numbers pad, 1 is far away from 0. It would make sense if closer digits such 7,8 or 9 instead of 0 because they’re closer to zero.
Yes Sello I discovered that cos I remember when linking the account I made a screen shot. When I showed them as a proof they ignore me . I even told them that the system is manipulating our accounts.
We were also scammed on the JPMM DP platform. Invested alot of money. When we wanted to withdraw our funds, it has been blocked. And now we must pay 200k to withdrawn 195k.
And there is no one that want to assist, cant get hold of anyone via phone or email.
Be carefull huge scam. Beware of David Aserkoff.
I am also a victim of this scam . I reported it to SAPS and hopefully they can trace these scamsters.
I am concerned that both ABSA and Discovery Bank allowed these scamsters to open accounts.
What’s worse is that FICA requires transactions exceeding a certain threshold to be reported. There are millions traded on a daily basis on this platform using these 2 banks. Why is there no suspicious transactions raised or reported. They’re still continuing unabated.
The authorities and business institutions are failing us because these scammers use legitimate business registrations and license numbers. They should follow the money and nip this before too much damage is committed.
I have also reported to SAPs and absa and discovery as well as JP MORGAN. Lets hope it sees the light of day
Same thing happened to me I’m just realising it late already. .Loan was suggested to me after I struggled to come up with funds to complete subscription. Without any consultation to discuss and agreeing to terms and conditions the money was deposited into that so called trading account. After the trade cycle I contacted customer service to arrange payment from the same funds in the trade account to my surprise I was told funds are held as collateral till I pay the loan from my bank account. Tried to reason with them even to authorise them to deduct the owed amount and let the remaining balance accessible to me .All got impossible I’m stuck with 800k in that trade account and 100k is remanded from me to be able to lift the hold on the rest of the money
Please report this case to SAPS. I have done ao at Lyttleton SAPS in Pretoria. I have also reported it to FSCA, ABSA and Discovery bank. I also think that both banks might be liable for allowing these thieves to trade on these bank accounts. Due diligence has not been followed when these accounts were opened.
Also add a rating on the APP store for the JPMM DP app.
Pieter these JPMM DP played us . This so call David pretended as if he is helping us to have money for our families while while he was scamming us our hard earned money. They have no mercy. They are here to destroy innocent people
@pearl, fully agree. However, it is not the real David. I contacted him at JP Morgan and he confirmed that scamsters are impersonating him.