Another day, another scam—at least that’s how it goes in South African social media circles.
The latest scheme hoping to prey on naïve South Africans is Tiger Agriculture, a scam using the tired and worn-out façade of agricultural products as an investment vehicle.
According to the scam’s marketing materials, Tiger Agriculture claims its mission is to “help increase agricultural food production and planting scale. Agricultural promoters can receive generous daily wages and company incentive subsidies.”
The scam also brazenly invokes the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to bolster its image, falsely declaring that its supposed “Agricultural Assistance Program” was jointly initiated by the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and Tiger Agriculture.
To be clear, there is currently no programme known as the “Agricultural Assistance Program” at the DALRRD. There is equally no public record of any interaction between the department and Tiger Agriculture, let alone a joint initiative.
To remove any confusion about this supposed association, the DALRRD issued a statement in June 2024, specifically calling out Tiger Agriculture for the unauthorised use of the NAMC (National Agricultural Marketing Council) logo and fraudulent claims of partnerships.
In the statement issued on 7 June 2024, the NAMC said it “has noted with concern the unauthorised and deceptive usage of its logo as well as the widely publicised fake partnership by the organisation that identifies itself as Tiger Agriculture and Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited.”
The NAMC, which operates under the DALRRD and is responsible for promoting market access for South African agriculture, did not mince it words.
The council stated it viewed the “unscrupulous behaviour by Tiger Agriculture as an effort to undermine the integrity and good reputation that the NAMC has built over the years with its stakeholders and the public.”
Like other scams, Tiger Agriculture lures so-called investors with small initial payments and cultivates an aura of exclusivity by operating on an invite-only basis.
One of their marketing pitches drives this point home, stating, “strict quality control process and certification by international certification agencies (100% Guarantee).”
Which certification agencies and for what purpose is never made clear, but users who receive an invitation code are required to pay R85.
Once inside the Tiger Agriculture “platform,” users are supposedly given the chance to “invest” in various farming products, which range from R85 to R1,820.
As for the individuals behind the scam, they remain as elusive as always. However, several known individuals are promoting Tiger Agriculture in various social media groups.
These individuals are not likely to be the masterminds but are instead mere cogs in the system, hoping to grow their so-called team commissions through recruitment.
The scam’s websites, tigeragriculture.com and tigeragriculture.world, were registered in April 2024, about a month before it started trending on social media.
As for the scam’s longevity, it seems to be on its last legs. It first peaked in May 2024, then again in August 2024, and has been trending since the second week of September, reaching its all-time peak according to Google Trends.
Based on how these scams typically operate in South Africa, this looks like the last rush before it collapses—likely anytime now, given that three distinct peaks have occurred, all within the first six months.
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