Monica Geingos: Namibia’s former first lady warns of fraudsters using her face

Mavis Elias, the former first lady’s executive assistant, said that “the most susceptible to this type of activity are those that are driven by what they see”.

She said that her office had been inundated with messages from people who had been defrauded – large amounts have been involved in some cases.

“At this juncture, it’s just a concern [over] the fact that it’s gotten worse over the past few months.

“That is distressing because it means that the more accounts are being made and the more people are becoming 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 cyber-security expert at South African company TCGForensics.

He told the BBC that while several reports suggested the scams were being run from South Africa, they now appear to be “globally spread”.

Mrs Geingos is not the only high-profile person whose image and voice has been manipulated.

In South Africa, well-known figures such as wealthy businessmen Johann Rupert and Patrice Motsepe as well as President Cyril Ramaphosa have been caught up in similar schemes to trick people out of their money.

“Scammers frequently use celebrities in their scams to lull their victims into a false sense of confidence and to encourage the victim not to ask too many questions,” Mr Pedersen said.

Dr Thembekile Olivia Mayayise, an expert in this field at South Africa’s Wits University, echoed this, saying she had come across numerous videos online using a celebrity’s likeness.

People are urged to be “more cautious with investments” and scrutinise any suspicious communication they receive – especially from well-known figures.

“Ultimately the consumer needs to become more distrusting of celebrity endorsements – particularly with regards to investments,” Mr Pedersen said.