Actress and businesswoman Connie Ferguson has become the victim of yet another scam, as her name was allegedly used to defraud a woman out of R800,000.
The victim, Matokgo Elizabeth Makutoane, a woman from South Africa claimed that forex traders used a Facebook account with Connie's picture as their profile picture to lure her into investing money.
After being introduced to a representative of America Options Trade (AOT), Makutoane was promised a return of R10 million after investing R100K.
The scammer initially made contact with the woman on Facebook using Ferguson's photo to create a fake profile. After establishing communication on Facebook, the scammer persuaded the woman to switch to the messaging app WhatsApp.
Through ongoing conversation on WhatsApp, they managed to deceive and manipulate her into sending them thousands of dollars. She was told to pay $47,000 (R860K) for a card that would allow her to withdraw the funds.
Desperate to recover her investment, Makutoane applied for bank loans to meet the fraudsters' monetary demands.
Following the incident, the Johannesburg High Court imposed an urgent interdict to prevent Makutoane's defrauders from withdrawing the funds and committing a bank scam. Connie Ferguson, however, has denied any involvement in the investment scheme and has expressed her frustration at being exploited by scammers for their personal gain.
This is not the first time the former 'The Queen' actress has been the victim of such scams, and while she is tired of people using her name for fraudulent activities, she has decided not to press charges.
This incident serves as a reminder to the public to be cautious when investing money, especially when the investment opportunity is presented through social media platforms.