“Earn Extra Income with Stagwell TV – Now in South Africa!” starts a claim doing the rounds on WhatsApp and Facebook in South Africa. The claim has also been shared to public groups with tens of thousands of members.

“If you're looking for an easy way to earn extra money from home, Stagwell TV is here to help,” the messages continue, adding an explanation of what “Stagwell TV” is, and what readers need to do to earn the money. The posts say:

Here’s How It Works:

🎬 Start for FREE: Sign up as an intern, watch trailers for 3 days, and earn R36.

💸 Upgrade to K1 for R360: Your first month’s earnings will cover the cost!

✅ Earn R12 per day: That’s R360 per month for a whole year.

Why Join Stagwell TV?

Easy Earnings: Earn money daily from your phone.

Referral Bonuses: Get R43.20 for every new K1 member you refer.

Grow Your Income: Upgrade your membership to increase your earnings.

According to the posts, readers also have the option to “invest as little as R50 into short-term wealth funds” which would then grow their money.

They add that readers should “visit the website” by clicking on one link, and register by clicking on a second. 

Other posts making similar claims, some with the same two links, have been shared to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.  

Claims similar to these have a reputation for luring job seekers just to scam them out of money or personal information. So, are these adverts legit?

Nothing but the facts

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Stagwell is a global marketing and communications group based in New York City in the US. In 2022, the company expanded its global market services through partnerships in several African countries, including South Africa.

“Stagwell’s focus will initially be in the North and South African markets, with continued engagement and collaboration in Central Africa, supporting the localized needs of consumers,” it said.

But is the company offering social media users a way to “earn extra money from home” through unverified profiles and groups?

While the first link in the Facebook posts does take social media users to the official Stagwell website, the second link is an unverified, broken link.

This could be a tactic by scammers, linking to the authentic website to add validity to the second unverified link.

Some of the posts include phone numbers, or ask users to reach out in the comments, to find out how they can “register”.

Scammers will often ask social media users to comment on posts in an attempt to gain reach for a page or linked websites. Sending direct messages to unverified numbers can lead to phishing, a tactic used to trick users into handing over personal information for fraud purposes. 

Stagwell has posted a statement on its website warning consumers to beware of “fraudulent recruiting advertisements and scams”:

We know fraudulent job offers and recruiting scams exist. These scams often use the internet, social media, and messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to deceive job seekers. Scammers may pose as legitimate companies, including Stagwell, to steal personal and financial information or to trick job seekers into downloading malicious applications.

For example, although Stagwell Global has no connection to “StagwellTV South Africa,” scammers have misused the Stagwell name, logo, and even official-looking videos to create a false impression of legitimacy. Fraudsters may also use other variations of the Stagwell name. These fraudsters often operate under fake aliases and addresses, so please be hyper aware of the email domain who is reaching out to you.

There is an abundance of fake social media profiles masquerading as legitimate businesses. Here’s how to sort fact from fiction: