Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently participated in a nighttime police operation targeting individuals posing as cryptocurrency and forex traders who were operating luxury vehicles with fake or missing license plates.
During the raid, authorities seized a silver Mercedes-AMG GLE valued at over $153,000 that had been fraudulently registered as a white BMW. Additionally, the driver of an unregistered BMW 3 Series was arrested.
Local officials warned that fraudulent crypto syndicates are leveraging social media platforms like TikTok to showcase luxury assets—particularly high-end cars—as status symbols to entice victims into fake investment schemes.
A March report highlighted that corporate-style scam centers run by international criminal networks have established clusters in Cape Town and Johannesburg. These groups employ sophisticated tactics such as deepfakes, cloned mobile applications, and counterfeit investment platforms to defraud unsuspecting users.
The illicit proceeds from these scams are typically laundered through cryptocurrency wallets, money mules, and physical assets including unlicensed luxury vehicles.