Former Namibian First Lady Monica Geingos has released a video message warning people that scammers are using her name and likeness to target unsuspecting citizens.
The manipulated clips that have been circulating on social media for some time seem to show her asking people to invest in a foreign exchange (forex) scheme.
There have been many victims, including a woman who was cheated out of her pension savings, a spokesman for Ms Geingos told the BBC.
The former first lady’s team has been raising the issue for nearly two years, but this is the first time Ms Geingos has made an appeal in person as the volume of fake messages has “worsened over the last two months”.
Ms Geingo’s husband, Hage Geingob, was Namibia’s president from 2015 until he died in office last year.
On Thursday video messageThe lawyer and businesswoman said she was asked to make a public appeal in person after the issue had become “ubiquitous… across social media platforms”.
There are a number of accounts on TikTok, Instagram and X that at first look like they belong to her – using her profile picture and a handle that is very similar to her name.
People are also being contacted directly.
“Recently, someone received a video call purportedly of me convincing them to invest in some kind of strange forex scheme,” Ms Geingos said.
“I’m not a forex person, I’m not on any social media platform asking for money or giving any loans or whatever they tell you.”
She urged people not to “engage with these fake accounts” but to report them.
The TikTok clips have used original footage of Ms Geingos speaking dubbed in a voice that sounds like her own. The bank account details and phone numbers provided are all from Namibia.
Mavis Elias, the former first lady’s executive assistant, said “most susceptible to this type of activity are those who are driven by what they see.”
She said her office had been inundated with messages from people who had been defrauded – large sums involved in some cases.
“At this point, it’s just a concern [over] a fact that has worsened over the past few months.
“This is worrying because it means the more accounts are being made and the more people become susceptible to it, the more people lose their hard-earned money,” Ms Elias said.
These types of scams have become a “widespread threat in Africa and… internationally,” according to Craig Pedersen, a cybersecurity expert at South African company TCGForensics.
He told the BBC that while some reports suggested the scams were being run from South Africa, they now appear to be “globally spread”.
Ms Geingos is not the only high-profile person whose image and voice have been manipulated.
In South Africa, prominent figures such as wealthy businessmen Johann Rupert and Patrice Motsepe as well as President Cyril Ramaphosa have been caught in similar schemes to cheat people out of their money.
“Scammers often use celebrities in their scams to lull their victims into a false sense of confidence and encourage the victim not to ask too many questions,” Mr Pedersen said.
Dr Thembekile Olivia Mayayise, an expert in the field at South Africa’s Wits University, echoed this, saying she had come across numerous videos online using a celebrity’s likeness.
People are being urged to be “more cautious with investments” and to scrutinize any suspicious communications they receive – especially from well-known figures.
“Ultimately, the consumer needs to become more distrustful of celebrity endorsements – especially in relation to investments,” Mr Pedersen said.