A doctored Facebook video of Australian mining magnate and businessman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest is the latest in a series of deepfakes to hijack images of people in deceptive advertisements. It is undermining trust in the media.
Cybersecurity firm Cybertrace has issued a warning over Forrest's video, which appears to promote a fake cryptocurrency trading platform.
deepfake scam
The footage was leaked on Facebook, urging viewers to sign up to a scam platform that claims to make “ordinary individuals” thousands of dollars every day. Targets are directed to a site named “Quantum AI,'' which Cybertrace says has become notorious as a hub for scams and financial scams.
The video was an altered version of Mr Forrest's behavior and demeanor from a 'fireside chat' hosted by the Rose Trust in October 2023. CyberTrace identified a deepfake on Facebook on January 27th. It depicts an AI-altered version of a billionaire supporting a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading platform.
Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta implemented a deepfake ban in early 2020, but doctored clips continue to wreak havoc by targeting low-profile users on social media platforms. But Mr Forrest accused the social media giant of not doing enough to prevent fraud.
The billionaire is currently filing criminal charges against Facebook for another cryptocurrency ad scam that allegedly exploited his image. Expressing his dissatisfaction, Mr Forrest said:
“Facebook will do nothing. I hope the legal action I have initiated will be addressed to hold social media companies accountable for the negligent manner in which they operate their advertising platforms.” I started legal proceedings almost two years ago out of concern that innocent Australians were being scammed on Facebook. ”
Deepfake scammers are on the rise
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor recently revealed that his team works to remove approximately 80 fake videos every day, many of which are designed to support various Bitcoin scams. I am. Additionally, doctored videos featuring celebrities such as billionaire Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, also appeared on various social media outlets.
Some of these videos contain links to investment schemes, unauthorized products, or unrelated e-commerce sites that disappear after a few days.
Deepfake videos generated by artificial intelligence (AI) are gradually emerging as one of the biggest security threats around the world. According to Sumsub data, the rate of deepfakes in North America increased significantly from 2022 to the first quarter of 2023.
In the United States, the rate jumped from 0.2% to 2.6%, and in Canada it increased from 0.1% to 4.6%. At the same time, printed counterfeit cases, which accounted for 4% to 5% of total fraud in 2022, plummeted to 0% in the last quarter.
“Anti-fraud and verification providers who don’t stay up to date with deepfake detection technology are falling behind, putting both businesses and users at risk. It is an essential part of the verification and fraud prevention system.”
