The saga of Stagwell TV South Africa (stagwelltv88.com) has finally reached its inevitable conclusion.
In the early hours of 18 January 2025, the website went dark, the apps ceased to function, and the scammers vanished without a trace.
This marks the collapse of one of the most elaborate and ruthless scams to target South Africans, leaving countless victims in financial devastation.
The collapse came just two days after the promised rollout of the “AI Smart Withdrawals” upgrade on 16 January 2025. This supposed solution to withdrawal issues was nothing more than a smokescreen to pacify victims and prolong the scam.
In retrospect, the date seems to have been the scammers’ planned endgame, designed to extract as much money as possible before vanishing.
Tracing the Genesis of the Scam
The Stagwell TV South Africa scam was not an overnight operation. It was meticulously planned and executed, evolving over several months to entrap unsuspecting victims.
- March 2024: Domain Registration and Website Launch
The domain stagwelltv88.com was registered through a Singapore-based registrar, Gname, and served as the primary digital hub for the operation. This was the first step in creating a facade of legitimacy. - May 2024: Early Promotions Begin
Initial promotional efforts began, though they gained little traction in the early months. - August 2024: Interest Grows
By August, the scam started gaining attention, as evidenced by Google Trends data. - November 2024: Social Media Surge
A surge in social media promotions drove significant interest. Influencers on platforms like Facebook and TikTok played a key role in amplifying the scam’s reach, recruiting victims through viral posts and enticing promises of easy money.
The Timeline of Collapse
The operation followed a predictable trajectory, carefully crafted to lure in victims, maintain their trust, and ultimately disappear with their funds:
- October 2024: Registration and Recruitment Intensifies
Stagwell TV South Africa officially launched, falsely claiming to be part of the legitimate Stagwell Global company. It leveraged stolen branding, counterfeit narratives, and a polished website to attract users. - 10 January 2025: Withdrawal Problems Emerge
Users began experiencing delayed withdrawals. The scammers introduced the “AI Bear” narrative, blaming technical upgrades for the delays and promising resolution. - 15 January 2025: Fabricated Tax Demands
Victims were coerced into paying fake taxes under the pretext of compliance with SARS regulations. Many who paid these amounts found themselves locked out of their accounts. - 16 January 2025: “AI Smart Withdrawals” No-Show
The highly anticipated rollout of the “AI Smart Withdrawals” upgrade came and went without any resolution. This date, in hindsight, appears to have been the planned endgame for the scam. - 18 January 2025: Final Collapse
By the early hours of 18 January, the website and apps had gone offline, and victims were removed from WhatsApp and Telegram groups. The scammers disappeared, leaving shattered lives and empty accounts in their wake.
A Predictable Pattern of Collapse
The Stagwell TV scam followed a familiar pattern, seen in many such schemes:
- Build Trust: The scammers created a facade of legitimacy through branding, partnerships, and a professional website.
- Encourage Deposits: Victims were encouraged to upgrade their accounts and deposit larger sums for greater returns.
- Fabricated Compliance Measures: The introduction of fake technical upgrades and compliance narratives helped deflect criticism and maintain engagement.
- Heists: The scammers executed multiple heists, including fabricated tax demands and milestone events like the fake “1st anniversary celebration.”
- Platform Lockouts: Victims were frozen out of their accounts, unable to withdraw funds without paying additional amounts.
- Complete Shutdown: The website and apps went dark, and communication channels were severed.
A Critical Reminder: Preserve Your Records
As the scam collapses, victims seeking justice must preserve all relevant records. These may prove vital for reporting the fraud and assisting investigations.
Key records to keep include:
- Marketing Materials: Save promotional messages, social media posts, and screenshots.
- Website Data: Document URLs and, if possible, download copies of the website before it disappears completely.
- Interaction Records: Keep a record of all communications with recruiters, managers, or other individuals involved.
- Payment Proof: Retain receipts, bank transaction details, and account numbers related to deposits.
- Bank Account Details: Note the accounts used by the scammers, even though these are often transitory or mule accounts and may already be closed.
While preserving these records does not guarantee the recovery of funds, they are crucial for building a case and aiding law enforcement efforts.
The Final Verdict
The Stagwell TV South Africa scam epitomised calculated deception and exploitation. From its inception in March 2024 to its collapse in January 2025, the operation preyed on the financial vulnerabilities of its victims, offering false hope and impossible promises.
As the operation collapses, its aftermath serves as a stark warning: scams like this thrive on trust and desperation. For those affected, the priority now is to preserve records, report the fraud to the relevant authorities, and raise awareness to prevent similar scams in the future.
The final curtain has fallen on Stagwell TV South Africa, but its impact will linger. Let this be a lesson to all: if it seems too good to be true, it almost always is.
Also read:
They have not gone dark at all. They are using an alternative domain after I managed to get the domain http://www.stagwell88.com. The alternative domain is http://www.stagwell-tv.cc. They opened up the whatsapp group few hours ago again. Some people who paid the taxes could still not get a withdrawal done and they are now requesting more money for a seperate “isssue”.
Thanks for the heads-up Shaun, we will look into and write an update warning the public.
They are a scam, but I am still on telegram groups, and the app of this scammers.
They are still trying to get money from me saying that I must link my telegram account to the company, but I must pay another amount to withdraw from the account
consists of the book itself