MARY ALEXANDER • 22 May 2024

“Currently your life is about to transform. My name is Johann Rupert and I am one of the wealthiest South African,” the billionaire Johann Rupert appears to say in a video repeatedly posted on Facebook in May 2024.*

Rupert is said to be South Africa’s richest person.

In the video, he seems to say:

Today is your lucky day. Today we begin a financial revolution before your eyes. You are one of the selected few who will get a chance to change your life. Only the bravest will be able to seize this opportunity. Out of 100 invited, only the 50 fastest and most determined will succeed.

The voiceover then describes an investment scheme promised to earn a return of US$1,000 a day for the rest of the investor’s life. That’s about R18,000 to R19,000 a day.

“Imagine a life without fear. The key here is the timing. If you start at the right time, you will succeed. So be vigilant. Enter the site and start acting now.”

The post includes a link to a website.

Is South Africa’s richest person really selling an investment scheme on Facebook?

Rupert interviewed at Financial Times summit

Africa Check took screenshots of the video and ran them through a reverse image search.

This led us to the original video, uploaded on the FT Live YouTube channel in November 2019 – more than four years ago.

Rupert’s suit and posture is the same, as is the striped banner behind him.

Its description reads: “FT Africa Summit – In Conversation with Johann Rupert.”

FT is the Financial Times, an influential UK-based business newspaper. It holds a one-day Africa summit every year.

In the original 28-minute video Rupert discusses a range of economic and political issues. He does not attempt to sell an investment.

The video on Facebook has been dubbed, with a different voice added to promote the scheme.

And its link goes to a dodgy website with the URL new24-info.info – similar to the address of the legitimate news site News24 – but designed to appear to be the website of SABC News.

The headline on the webpage reads: “SECRET SUCCESS: Over 200,000 South African citizens have achieved financial independence with a new investment platform, earning up to R120K per month!”

This in turn links to a form headed: “Start now with only R4,700 deposit.” It asks for personal information – name, email address and phone number.

All this fakery – the cheapfake dubbed video and the fake SABC News website – clearly indicates that the Facebook posts are a scam. Ignore them.

Johann Rupert is not promoting a scheme with a return of $1,000 a day. As with any scam, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Published by Africa Check on 6 June 2024

The post South African billionaire Rupert not touting investments on Facebook – cheapfake video a scam appeared first on South Africa Gateway.