Internationally recognized South African singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and philanthropist Yvonne Chaka Chaka who recently celebrated her 57th birthday in style is currently being cloned by a Tik Tok user claiming to be her, and using her brand to scam money from fans and supporters of the singer through their account.
The princess of Africa took to her personal Instagram with a following of over 128K followers yesterday evening to address and warn her fans against following and entertaining the Tik Tok scammer. She shared a video where she wrote the caption, “Scam alert. We have no Tik Tok Account. @yvonnechakachaka001 on Tiktok is not our account so please stop making donations to this false account. We apologized to you all with love and appreciation.”
In the Video, the “Umqombothi” classic maker said, “Hello to my supporters, and my fans, all those that I love and appreciate very much. I have just come to realize that someone has started a Tik Tok account under my name and with my pictures.” She showed fans her phone screen with the Tiktok profile which looks convincing enough that it could be associated with her brand. The account not only has Yvonne’s name but her images, her nonprofit company Princess of Africa Foundation website in the profile, and its overall branding. She added, urging her supporters to be careful of being scammed, “People have been donating money and others are asked to put money on bitcoin, it’s a big scam, please don’t do it. Do not put any money, it’s a scam,” said Yvonne.
The fake Tik Tok account now sits at over 3000 followers and over 4000 overall likes on the page and has been actively asking for donations claiming they will be going towards the Princess of Africa foundation which aims to assist organizations working to influence policy and mobilize resources to fight diseases of poverty and achieve equitable access to health.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka, UNICEF Goodwill ambassador and Rollback Malaria Goodwill ambassador in Africa, founded the Princess of African Foundation in 2006 to support her work. The organization is a non-profit registered under Section 21 of the Companies Act that carries out the community and social charity work. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated compassion for others, making her a role model on the African continent. In addition to teaching literacy, promoting women's rights, and working tirelessly to protect children, Yvonne has dedicated her life to protecting children.
Media industry broadcasters Anele Mdoda and Penny Lebyane have started sharing Yvonne’s video, helping to bring awareness to more fans about the scam. Anele who is currently living large in the US shared the post this morning to her 712K followers on Instagram stories with the caption, “scammer alert.” Penny Lebyane also shared it with her 206K Instagram followers also noting the scammers with the caption, “Evil”.
She is not the first South African celebrity who has been a victim of an identity theft that has to do with financial gain online. Some other celebs include Somizi Mhlobo who stays addressing his fans against scammers seeking money. Others include
