People quickly warned others about it on social media.
People might just start to think for themselves when confronted with promises of instant, huge returns backed by obviously false claims and fake videos on social media. This appears to be the case with the crooks behind Dazzle Brilliance Diamond, who tried to cheat people in SA.
They were successful in scamming a lot of people, but were called out within weeks.
The flow of money from new victims dried up quickly and the scheme could not pay out earlier investors, leading to its quick failure.
From creating false content and setting up websites and social media accounts to running and hiding all happened within weeks. The scheme was launched in January 2025, and started to fail by the middle of February.
The promoters made the usual promises of high returns, this time pretending to be diamond miners and inviting investors to “rent” mining equipment and share in the profits of the mine.
Needless to say, there was no equipment, nor a diamond mine.
Looking back at old social media posts on Reddit, Facebook, and X, people immediately said it looked like a scam. Some of the investors – or maybe the promoters themselves – fought back and said they got paid their returns.
But by 10 February, it was over. A complaint posted on the Hello Peter website on that date described the failure.
“We deposited money, R2 850, and were advised that there’s a ‘special’; in 5 days, one will withdraw R5 700,” it said.
“All of a sudden, thousands of people were blocked or stopped from withdrawing because, apparently, the South African government and UK government came to an agreement that we must pay tax ranging from R800 to R12 000. Those who blindly paid the stipulated tax have still not been able to withdraw their monies.”
ALSO READ: How to spot the signs and avoid falling victim to online scams
Bolhuis
On 12 February, crime investigator Mike Bolhuis, owner of Specialised Security Services, issued a warning to his followers on social media to alert the public about the “fraudulent investment scheme operating under the name of Dazzle Brilliance Diamond (DBD)”.
“This scam falsely presents itself as a legitimate diamond mining and investment company but exhibits clear characteristics of a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. It is not linked to Dazzle Diamonds (a jeweller in Rosebank, Johannesburg).
“This fraudulent scheme has illegally used the legitimate South African company Dazzle Diamonds’s identity, email address, and cellphone number,” wrote Bolhuis.
He noted that the real Dazzle Diamonds is taking legal action against the scammers for identity theft.
The alert distributed by Bolhuis labelled Dazzle Brilliant Diamond as a fake investment model.
“DBD claims to be involved in diamond mining, refining, and sales, but there is no evidence of actual mining operations.”
He said it had all the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme, where investments from new investors are used to pay early investors, with the sole purpose of luring in more people.
ALSO READ: Warning: watch out for scammers posing as police
Bolhuis listed all the warning signs:
- The scheme falsely claims an eight-year partnership with the South African government, which is unverified.
- Participants are required to “rent mining equipment”, with promises of guaranteed daily income up to R4 000 from a very small investment.
- Lifetime passive income.
- Guaranteed returns.
- A recruitment-based pyramid structure, where members must recruit others using personal referral links.
- Income is based on new recruits, not actual investments or mining activities.
- DBD falsely claims to be supervised by SA banks and government authorities.
- No registration details with oversight authorities are provided.
- The scheme uses manipulative marketing tactics, such as offering popular mobile phones and bonuses designed to lure in victims.
- Members are required to link their online banking accounts, creating serious security risks.
- A 5% “equipment maintenance fee” is deducted from withdrawals.
Bolhuis said that any promised high, risk-free returns are impossible in legitimate investments, and there is no guarantee that investors will receive anything back.
He also noted that the website, formerly dbdcarat.com, appeared to have been created solely to give a false impression of legitimacy.
Dazzle Brilliance Diamond apparently had several websites with at least four different domain addresses. None are working any more.
ALSO READ: Consumer scammed out of R6 million while ‘trading’ on JSE
‘Unrealistic and not authorised’ says FSCA
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued a public warning against Dazzle Brilliance Diamond last week, on 3 October 2025.
“The FSCA has received information that Dazzle is soliciting funds from members of the public for investment purposes, while promising unrealistic returns. Dazzle is reportedly offering investment opportunities, where members of the public are encouraged to ‘Invest R2 500 and receive R6 000 in 40 days!’.
“The FSCA cautions that promises of unrealistic returns should be treated with great suspicion.
“While the FSCA does not comment on the specific business activities of Dazzle, it is important to note that Dazzle is not authorised in terms of any financial sector law to provide financial services to the public.
“To avoid unnecessary risk, the public should refrain from accepting financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from individuals or entities not authorised by the FSCA,” it added.
“Authorised financial services providers must clearly display their authorisation status in their documentation. If this is not present, it is advised to further investigate before making any payments.”
The FSCA could not get hold of the promoters, stating that Dazzle was “not available for comment”.
This in itself should be a warning sign. Legitimate companies usually publish the names of their directors and senior people, often with some background information on their experience.
ALSO READ: How to spot the signs and avoid falling victim to online scams
What to watch out for
The FSCA says the public is strongly urged to exercise caution when considering investment or trading offers on social media platforms or any unsolicited offers.
“There are many fraudsters operating scams and the number is growing. South Africans lose millions of rands every year to fraudsters. Illegal operations are sometimes well-disguised as legitimate operations.”
The FSCA advises the public to be on the lookout for certain tell-tale danger signs when approached by persons offering attractive investment opportunities. Red flags include:
- Unrealistic or exaggerated returns;
- Offers made on social media platforms;
- Requirements to pay for services upfront;
- Requirements to pay more money to have your investments returned;
- Requirements to pay for training to access services;
- Claims that you must act and pay urgently; and
- Vague information about the investment product.
Bolhuis warned back in February that Dazzle Brilliant Diamond was a fraudulent scheme designed to collapse once recruitment slowed, urging people to share the report of his investigation with others: “This public document was intended to be shared. Please do so.”
Moneyweb tried to reach out to Dazzle Brilliance Diamond for comment but received no response.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
