Deepfake celebrity investment ad scam: كيف يعمل وعلامات التحذير وماذا تفعل
Investment scams · alto
Scammers use artificial intelligence to alter real videos of business leaders and famous figures so they appear to endorse an investment, often in crypto. The videos run as social media ads or fake livestreams. Anyone who shows interest is moved to WhatsApp or Signal.
A fake website displays fictitious gains to encourage larger deposits. When the victim tries to withdraw, new fees or "taxes" appear. Afterwards, the victim may also be contacted by fake recovery services. The New York Attorney General warns these transactions are almost always irreversible.
Sinais / Signs
- A celebrity endorsing an investment in an ad or livestream
- Promises of guaranteed returns
- Pressure to invest now or miss out
- The conversation moved to WhatsApp or Signal
- Sending crypto to a private wallet or unlicensed platform
- Fees or "taxes" to release a withdrawal
Prevenção / Prevention
- Be suspicious of any celebrity video selling an investment
- Compare the video with verified interviews and run a reverse search
- Check professional registration (e.g. FINRA BrokerCheck)
- Don't give data or logins to people you met online
- Turn on multi-factor authentication for email and financial accounts
O que fazer / What to do
- Stop depositing and don't pay withdrawal fees
- Keep screenshots, wallet addresses and chats
- Report the ad to the platform and the authorities
- Be wary of anyone offering to recover the money
FAQ
Can I tell from the video that it's a deepfake?
Not always. The New York AG says it can be hard to tell from the video alone; treat the investment pitch itself as the red flag.
The site shows my money growing. Can I trust it?
No. Fake sites display false gains to encourage bigger deposits.
Radar
- — PeckShield: 56 hacks drained US$6.48bn from crypto in October, up 745% from September · US$ 6,48 bi. Binance accounts for about US$6.3bn, followed by Bitget (US$387m) and Liquid Network (US$320m). Year-to-date losses total about US$8.6bn. المصدر: TechFlow / PeckShield
- — Peru police arrest two from "Cyber Fake del Oriente" ring that received proceeds of foreign fraud · US$ 232 mil. The case began with US$10k stolen from a Moldovan via Apple Pay; a business account received US$232k from abroad, withdrawn and converted into crypto. المصدر: El Comercio
- — Brothers get 15+ years for holding Minnesota family hostage and stealing US$8m in crypto · US$ 8 mi. The Texans held a father, mother and son hostage for hours in 2025, forcing transfers of about US$8m in crypto. Sentences are 15 and 15.5 years. المصدر: MPR News
- — Binance hit by ~US$6.3bn crypto theft attributed to North Korea · ~US$ 6,3 bi. Early report: a DevOps engineer's laptop was compromised by TraderTraitor; ~US$3bn frozen. Possibly the largest crypto theft ever. المصدر: The Record; Help Net Security
- — Goiás police serve 14 arrest warrants over fake crypto investment scam · R$ 477 mil. Criminals hijacked friends' social profiles, pitched crypto and had the victim install a remote-access app; R$477k was moved in 24 hours. Warrants were served in São Paulo and Piauí. المصدر: Portal Notícias Goiás
- — São Paulo police arrest alleged leader of nationwide fake bank call scam. In the city's north zone, 6 search and 3 arrest warrants were served; in Goiás, Operation Cripto-Quimera served 33 warrants against fake crypto investments. المصدر: Região Noroeste
- — RS police dismantle fake-bank gang that laundered a R$300k scam through crypto · R$ 300 mil. A Canoas probe served warrants in São Paulo; the victim was pressured for 14 days and R$46k was turned into BTC and ETH in non-custodial wallets. المصدر: Polícia Civil RS
- — OFAC sanctions Russians who laundered crypto for North Korean IT workers · US$ 3,5 mi. 10 individuals and 1 entity were designated; Ilya Boykov allegedly converted US$3.5m in crypto and Vitold Obertas nearly US$2m. Eight Ethereum and Tron addresses were listed. المصدر: FinanceFeeds
- Money laundering: FATF lists, a COAF record and Brazil's crypto rules
- Pig butchering: the crypto scam draining billions from Americans
- China's crypto ban and USDT: how underground banks launder billions
- EU AMLA and the new AML package: banks, fintechs and crypto
New York Attorney General - Investor alert on investment scams using AI-manipulated videos