Deepfake scams using Australia's PM have cost victims $7.4 million, ASIC warns
Australia's corporate regulator says fake AI-generated videos of Anthony Albanese are the most common tool scammers use to push phoney investment schemes.
Key points
- Australian scammers stole at least $7.4 million from victims using deepfake investment ads, according to ASIC.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is the most commonly faked public figure in these schemes.
- ASIC, Australia's corporate watchdog, says deepfake investment fraud has risen steeply in recent months.
- A deepfake is a fake video or audio clip generated by AI that makes a real person appear to say or do something they never did.
Scammers are putting Anthony Albanese's face in fake investment videos, and Australians have lost at least $7.4 million to the fraud, ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) has warned.
The method is straightforward and ugly. Fraudsters use AI tools to fabricate a deepfake video that looks and sounds like the Prime Minister endorsing a share scheme or crypto opportunity, push it through social media ads, and wait for a viewer to trust the familiar face, click through, and hand over money that never returns. ASIC says Albanese is the figure scammers reach for most often, and it describes the rise as steep.
Two weeks ago we reported on a Queensland man drained of his savings by an AI-powered crypto scam; the ASIC warning suggests that case is not unusual.
Why are politicians and celebrities used?
Familiarity is the weapon. A clip of a sitting prime minister urging viewers toward an investment carries instant credibility that a cold call never could. The AI tools needed to produce a convincing deepfake have also grown cheaper and easier to use over the past two years, which is why these scams are accelerating.
What should you watch for?
If you see any public figure promoting a specific investment on social media, treat it as a red flag. Legitimate investment opportunities don't arrive as video ads featuring prime ministers.
Four things worth checking before you act:
- Look for unnatural blinking or lip movements that drift slightly out of sync with speech. These are common deepfake tells.
- Search the person's name alongside the investment name. A real endorsement would appear in legitimate news coverage.
- Go directly to ASIC's website (asic.gov.au) and search the investment company's name before sending any money. Unlicensed operators won't appear on the register.
- If someone pressures you to decide quickly, that urgency is designed to stop you thinking clearly.
If you think you've seen one of these videos, report it to the platform and to Scamwatch at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The plain judgement here: the $7.4 million figure is almost certainly an undercount, because most victims don't report. What's worth watching is whether platforms face any regulatory pressure to catch these ads before they reach viewers, because right now the entire burden falls on the person being deceived.
