The sophisticated world of digital technology has become a double-edged sword, offering boundless information and connectivity while simultaneously giving rise to a new breed of financial predators.

Within the past year, unsuspecting Aussies have been swindled out of over $8 million through cunning schemes using deepfake technology, which manipulates videos and images to create indistinguishable dupes of celebrities and other prominent figures.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has sounded the alarm, alerting citizens to the surge in sham news articles and deepfake videos promoting online investment trading platforms.

ACCC's Deputy Chair, Catriona Lowe, shared that Scamwatch received 400 reports in the previous year.

She also advised Australians to remain vigilant, saying: 'We are urging Australians to take their time and do their research before taking up an investment opportunity—particularly those seen on social media.'

Unsuspecting Aussies lost over $8 million to deepfake investment scams within the past year. Image source: Shutterstock.

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'We know of an Australian man who lost $80,000 in cryptocurrency after seeing a deepfake Elon Musk video interview on social media, clicking the link and registering his details through an online form.'

'He was provided with an account manager and an online dashboard where he could see his investment supposedly making huge returns.'

'But when he tried to withdraw the money—he was locked out of his account.'

Fake endorsements and deepfake videos often touted investment platforms using groundbreaking technologies such as artificial intelligence or quantum computing to justify impressive returns.

Quantum AI has also emerged as one of the most prolific investment trading platforms alongside other platforms such as Immediate Edge and Quantum Trade Wave, as reported to Scamwatch.

The concoction of high-tech buzzwords and the allure of celebrity backing creates a mirage of legitimacy and security in these investment opportunities.

The National Anti-Scam Centre's investment scam fusion cell, co-chaired by the ACCC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has been tirelessly working to disrupt these scams.

Their approach included notifying social media platforms for the removal of scam ads and innovatively experimenting with payment blocking to these illegitimate platforms.

'It has been encouraging to see an overall downward trend in losses reported to Scamwatch to investment scams since the establishment of the fusion cell in July 2023,' Lowe said.

'The ACCC and ASIC will continue to work together as part of the National Anti-Scam Centre's efforts to stop scammers from harming Australians.'

In recent news, renowned Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith has admitted to being momentarily deceived by a deepfake video that manipulated his own voice.

'It fooled me, I thought I was answering these questions,' he said.

Despite personally contacting the platforms to have the video removed, he claims to have seen no concrete action.

You can read more about this news here.

Key Takeaways

• Australians have lost over $8 million to scams involving online investment trading platforms, largely promoted through social media.
• The ACCC warns the public to be cautious of deepfake videos and fake news articles featuring celebrities endorsing trading platforms.
• There were 400 reports made to Scamwatch last year, with some individuals losing significant sums to these scams, including one man who lost $80,000 to a fake Elon Musk-endorsed cryptocurrency scheme.
• The National Anti-Scam Centre's investment scam fusion cell, co-led by ACCC and ASIC, has been working to disrupt these scams and has seen an overall decrease in reported losses since its establishment in July 2023.

Have you, or someone you know, encountered deepfake scams? Share your stories and tips on how to stay safe from these scams in the comments below.

To stay updated on the latest scams, you may visit the ACCC’s Scamwatch website or read through our very own Scam Watch forum for the latest news.

 

[Clancieblue]

Seems some, still haven't woken up.

 

[kenrconn]

While we are all being made aware and warned about the “Deep fake” or AI created adverts that seem to pop up all over the place it is important to note that the effects of clicking on these can be so devastating to those who don't understand the implications and possibly losing a lot of money.
Even while writing this post to SDC an ad appears at the bottom of the screen promoting an investment service using Larry Edmures (Emdure) recreated image and dialogue using Artificial Intelligence’s capabilities. See pic below.

I understand that SDC is not responsible for this but it is only there through Google ads which allows SDC get rewards from advertising. What annoys me about this is that Google is allowing these ads to be broadcast to the, partly, unsuspecting public. Does the ACCC and the ACMA not have any jurisdiction and control over this??

 

[Mrtnst]

I've never understood why anyone would trust the word of a celebrity.

People who seek fame, usually do so for the money it often comes with.

Some don't, but how can you tell which are which.

Therefore I treat any celebrity endorsement (real or fake) as not worthy of any more respect than other advertising, i.e. none at all.

 

[Jest]

it seems to me that the majority who get caught are maybe a bit on the greedy side.

 

[Jest]

it seems to me that the majority who get caught are maybe a bit on the greedy side.

also celebrities are not, stars are not, and legends are not, to be looked up to. to refer to them as such just pisses me off.

 

[Shane O'Neill]

If it sound's to good be true to make mega dollars you are a fool parted with your money wake up

 

[Macarj]

This is not a new scam it has been going for many years these fake adds originally started in magazines before AI came on the scene

 

[Zemo]

The "allure" of so-called personalities or "influencers" popping up on this boat anchor begging me to enrich my life by investing -- along with them, of course, being the front men -- in some scheme or other leaves me absolutely stunned that these people would select me, out of all the billions on earth, to help them make my life unbelievably comfy. "Just sign up here, mate, and all will be well." I should be so lucky.
But then, again, it happened to them, so why not ME? Think I'll toddle orf to my local friendly bank and allow them to delete all my assets and forward the details to Kochie or Gina or whoever else is dished up as endorsing the scheme. Save a lot of time that way ...

 

[maherdj]

I always think to myself if the Celebrities are making so much money from these investments why are they still working?

 

[David567]

1st, Why would a celeb be using an investment platform to get rich. They already are.
2nd. Why would a celeb want to get other people rich.
3rd. Listen to the voice in these ads. The speaker has little if any personality. Their voice might sound like them buts that's all.
4th. Watch the lip movement. It doesn't match the words being spoken. This is more obvious for those with hearing loss and read lips but watch closely and you can see.
Last but not least, TREAT EVERYTHING AS A SCAM. RESEARCH EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.

 

[Clancieblue]

If it was so easy to get rich ,wouldn't we all already be rich.