IN SHORT: South African football club owner Shauwn Mkhize doesn’t have a Facebook account. These three accounts, using her name and promoting an investment platform named after her football team, are out to scam you.
The Facebook accounts Mamkhize Shauwn, Shauwn Mkhize and Shawn Mamkhize encourage their followers to grow their money through an investment platform called Royal AM.
They use the name and photos of Shauwn Mkhize, a South African businesswoman and owner of the Royal AM football club. She and her family also star in a reality TV show called Kwa Mam’Mkhize.
A typical post from the accounts reads: “New morning Opportunities And same God! Don't quit faster in life it's never too late. with minimum investment of R500 & Earn R9500.00 within 3hours Guaranteed!”
Similar offers have been posted here, here, here, here and here.
But can you trust these accounts and their promises? We checked.
Signs of a scam
The first red flag is that the posts feature odd punctuation and random capitalisation. We expect genuine businesses to publish well-written content on their social media accounts.
All three Facebook accounts were created in 2023, giving the impression that they were started specifically to promote investment offers.
The accounts don't link to a website, which is suspicious because legitimate companies usually have websites where customers can get more information.
The posts also invite interested users to contact them privately on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. TThis is another red flag, as reputable companies would want to conduct business as openly as possible.
We contacted the accounts via WhatApp, but only one – Mamkhize Shauwn – responded.
“As it start , you invest a little capital and get your capital and profit back in 24 hours , we use advanced marketing software to search for favorable market and signals and thereafter we trade with your funds to get amazing profit. For example if you invested R500 you will receive R15 000.00 as your profit, after the company trade for you within 24 hours of trading,” the account said.
The promise of such high returns in a short period of time is another red flag. Such businesses are unsustainable and often fail to deliver on this promise to all customers.
In another message, the account said we needed to provide personal details including our name, bank name and account number.
Mkhize distances herself from fake accounts
In a post on her official Instagram account on 11 February 2023, Mkhize said she did not have a Facebook account.
“There are a lot of fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter [now known as X], Instagram and TikTok … and it’s not right. These people are scamming the public … I don’t do forex [foreign exchange]. I’ve only got one account that is verified and that is on Instagram. Stop going to these accounts. If you want anything to do with me, come to the account that is verified,” she said.
Africa Check also contacted football club Royal AM about its affiliation with the investment platform, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them here.
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