ASIC Warns Deepfake Scams Cost Australians $7.4 Million, With Albanese Most Impersonated
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 16
ASIC Warns Deepfake Scams Cost Australians $7.4 Million, With Albanese Most Impersonated
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 16
Summary
$7.4 million was lost to scams using the 10 most-impersonated public figures, ASIC said, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese the most frequently deepfaked in fake investment pitches.
19,400 scams were handled by the regulator in the last financial year—almost triple a year earlier—as AI made polished videos, fake websites, reviews and news articles easier for overseas criminals to deploy.
One fake Albanese video promised a $4,000 investment could generate $40,000 a month, while another claimed users could earn $35 an hour on an "official platform" backed by the government.
5,476 phishing links, 7,051 fake investment platforms and 3,106 cryptocurrency scams were taken down last year, and ASIC warned that familiar branding, testimonials and even licence details can be faked.
Commonwealth Bank research found about 90% of Australians think they can spot an AI scam, but in practice do so less than half the time, as lawmakers also weigh rules on deceptive AI political content.