Scammers are using Jessica Nkosi’s name.
Instagram// Jessica Nkosi
If you get a friend request, a WhatsApp message or even a DM from a famous local or international celebrity, it’s probably a scam.
But every year, people get taken in by scammers pretending to be their beloved celebrities.
The latest celebrity they are pretending to be is actress Jessica Nkosi. A spokesperson for the royal family, Prince Mthunzi Ngonyama, fell victim to the imposter and lost R15 000.
The scammer convinced him to invest in Bitcoin and promised to receive a lump-sum of more than R430 000 in profit, to be paid within 48 hours, he tells News24.
Ngonyama told News24 that he believed he was chatting with the actress because he knew her face from television and having checked her Instagram profile, he says when he became suspicious of the swindlers’ identity, he was assured that she was the real Jessica Nkosi.
“I went through her pictures and videos and all her posts on Instagram and even the account appeared to be legit. When I raised my concerns that she could be a scammer, she asked me to explain all those videos showing Jessica Nkosi posted on the Instagram account.”
When the money was not paid out as promised, he went to lay a complaint at the Cambridge police station.
Jessica has called on people to be vigilant against scammers. She said in a statement that she is “neither involved in, nor advertising, Bitcoin or any form of cryptocurrency”.
“It has come to our attention that a number of social media accounts purporting to be that of Jessica Nkosi have taken to misleading, defrauding, and misrepresenting themselves to innocent members of the public.
“Jessica emphasizes with all those who have fallen victim to this scam and urges them to approach the nearest cyber-crime authority in their area to bring the relevant parties to justice.”
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