Knife Capital has warned the public about a telegram group called "Knife Capital Limited", which purports to be associated with the South African venture investment firm.
The group, which has almost 1,000 members, claims to help members invest in Knife Capital via the House of Crypto platform. It also fraudulently claims to have Knife Capital cofounders Keet van Zyl and Andrea Böhmert as members.
"We are a licensed FSP and do not encourage retail investors into Alternative Assets without context/ proper needs analysis and contracts," said Keet van Zyl, cofounder of Knife Capital.
"Crypto trading is not in Knife Capital’s VC mandate at all. Please report suspicious groups and activities."
In July, the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) warned South Africans to be on alert for a scam perpetrated Telegram where criminals impersonate wealth management companies.
Knife Capital is one of Africa's most prolific VC firms, with numerous exits under its belt, including e-ticketing startup Quicket, which was bought by Ticketmaster and Ordertalk, which was acquired by Ubereats.