Once again, Mcebisi Jonas, chairman of Africa's largest telecoms company, MTN Group, has been the victim of impersonation, with criminals assuming his identity for fraudulent reasons.
MTN Group, which has over 288 million members in 19 markets, revealed today that it has discovered an "X" account impersonating Jonas and spreading falsehoods.
"Jonas does not have an official "X" account. We notice that any sentiments expressed on the account do not represent the views of our Chairperson or MTN Group, and we are taking the necessary actions to have this removed and handled," said the business.
Impersonation is on the rise in South Africa, where MTN is located, and throughout the continent.
Experts have issued a warning about the rise in impersonation crimes, as fraudsters prey on their victims through phishing, smishing, and vishing.
Jonas is being targeted for the second time; two years ago, MTN Group announced that its chairman had been impersonated, stating that it had been made aware of incidents related to the false solicitation of funding under the guise of requests for sponsorship towards the company's Corporate Social Investment projects'.
"We have become aware of a growing number of situations in which our Group Chairman of the Board, Mcebisi Jonas, is impersonated or fake representatives approach the public demanding funds for MTN Foundation projects.
"This matter has been escalated with our Internal Audit and Forensic team, and an investigation is underway," stated Nompilo Morafo, MTN's Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Office at the time.
"We urge the public to not fall prey to scammers and report all suspicious and unsolicited phone calls, emails and WhatsApp communication received to us."
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