Fake Videos of Former First Lady Scam Namibians

Scammers are using the likeness of Namibia’s former first lady to trick people into falling for investment scams.

For some time now, Monica Geingos — first lady of Namibia from 2015 until her husband’s passing early last year — has been warning Namibians about criminals using her likeness to perpetrate cheap financial scams. In a video posted online last week, Geingos reported an “uptick” in accounts impersonating her across social media platforms, with some using manipulated videos. Dark Reading has reached out to representatives of Mrs. Geingos for more information.

Namibian Impersonation Scams

Across Africa, as much as anywhere else on the globe, impersonation of political leaders, celebrities, and other generally influential figures feature prominently in investment scams.

Rachael Shitanda, vice chair of East Africa at the Africa Information & Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA), recalls a wealth of similar incidents affecting her home country of Kenya. “There were cases where fraudsters created fake social media accounts for Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, promising job opportunities in exchange for ‘processing fees.’ These types of scams often target vulnerable job seekers. In another instance, fraudsters impersonated Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in a fake investment scheme. They used doctored videos and photos to make the scam more convincing, leading several Kenyans to fall victim.”

Geingos’ combination of regional influence, having been voted one of Namibia’s 12 most influential people in 2012 and one of Africa’s 100 most influential women in 2020, and financial experience — she is a former employee of Namibia’s Stock Exchange (NSX) and chairman of the board of eBank Namibia — make her a particularly effective vessel for these kinds of impersonation scams.

Source: Monica Geingos, The 3rd First Lady of Namibia on Facebook

Typically, scammers have impersonated Geingos on social media to promote fake foreign exchange (forex) trading platforms, or other forms of get-rich-quick schemes. Recently, Gengos said in her video, “Somebody received a video call, purportedly of me, convincing them to invest in some kind of weird forex [foreign exchange] schemes.” These sorts of videos appear to be using real footage, dubbed over with fake audio intended to sound like a recording of her voice.

Combating Online Scams in Africa

These tricks seem to be working, as evidenced by the rising attacks against Geingos. “Something that has surprised [my team] of late is how ubiquitous it’s become across social media platforms,” she has said. And in one case, Geingos told the BBC, a woman who fell victim to one of these scams was swindled out of her retirement savings.

To Shitanda, there are a few main reasons why cyber scams might be particularly effective in Africa. First, law enforcement bodies have limited resources to fight rapidly evolving cyber threats. Plus, the criminals themselves operate across national borders, making them harder to track down and apprehend.

That said, Namibia’s government has made some efforts to push back. Its state-owned Bank of Namibia founded a cybersecurity council aimed at combating online fraud in 2022, and a national cybercrime bill is currently undergoing a redrafting by the country’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT). Meanwhile, last summer, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) concluded a major operation called First Light that, among targets in 60 other countries, busted up a scam ring in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek. Authorities seized hundreds of computers and mobile phones, and freed 88 children “who were forced into conducting scams.”

Law enforcement aside, though, scammers are aided by more intractable core issues with how people engage with the Web. Digital literacy is lagging in some parts of the continent, Shitanda explains, and citizens of her country have a culture of trust in what they see: “People often believe messages from public figures without questioning their authenticity.”