AI-made videos of well-known people are pushing fake investment platforms, and a quick web search may not expose them. Reports were tied to $7.4 million in losses.
If you see a famous face promoting an investment on social media, assume it is a scam until proven otherwise. Australian regulators say scammers are using AI to make videos, news articles and reviews that look real. Reports to Scamwatch involving impersonated public figures were linked to $7.4 million in losses in the 2026 financial year.
ASIC, Australia's financial regulator, says scammers now use generative AI to build a much bigger web of deception. Generative AI is software that creates video, audio and text on demand. A deepfake is a video that makes a real person appear to say things they never said. ASIC says it has seen a sharp rise in deepfakes of celebrities and politicians urging Australians to invest.
ASIC Chair Sarah Court said AI is making investment scams "more convincing and harder to detect." She added that a simple web search is no longer enough to tell whether an investment is genuine.
The ad may lead to what looks like a news article, with an endorsement and comments from supposed investors. If you search for the company, you may find more of the same. Scammers can plant articles, ads, websites and positive reviews, so some of what you find was written by them.
Once you enter your name, phone number and email, calls from supposed brokers can start within minutes or hours, according to Bitdefender Labs. You are pushed to make a first deposit and shown a fake dashboard with made-up profits. Some victims even get small payments early on, which builds trust so they send more. ASIC says the money can end up with overseas criminals.
Anyone who sees investment ads on social media is a target, but Australia stands out. Bitdefender tracked more than 12,000 scam campaigns across 13 Asia-Pacific countries between January and April 2026. Australia accounted for 52% of them. Separately, Bitdefender studied 310 campaigns with over 26,000 ad sightings in at least 25 countries. The faces change by country, but the scam stays much the same.
Scammers also follow the news cycle. They switch to whoever people are talking about, so the face in the ad may not be one you have heard warnings about. Some campaigns used fake breaking-news stories about central banks, economists or celebrities, including the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Spotting odd facial movements or strange voices is becoming unreliable, so do not count on your eyes and ears. Bitdefender offers an app called RealCheck that analyzes video and audio and reports whether content looks authentic or altered.
The alert box above lists the steps. The core idea is simple: a familiar face proves nothing, so verify any investment with an official regulator before sharing details or sending money.
A famous face in an investment ad proves nothing, so check the company with your financial regulator before you share details or send money.
The Attala County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says scam calls are reaching residents, and a call that sounds official may not be.
Read more: Mississippi sheriff warns residents about scam phone callsScammers are posing as Texas sheriff's officers and claiming you missed jury duty. Caller ID can show a real police number even when the call is fake.
Read more: Fake jury duty calls spoof a real Texas sheriff's phone numberFake PayPal emails and texts, some posing as a security report, try to get you to tap a link and type your login. Checking your account directly avoids the trap.
Read more: Got a fake PayPal message? Skip its link and check your account yourself
