If you have some spare cash and are eager to make big money, but are unsure where to invest, have you ever felt tempted to try your hand at it when you see Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Warren Buffett talking about their lucrative investment projects? This is what New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James wants to draw your attention to.
On August 29, the office of Letitia James issued a warning to urge New Yorkers to be cautious of certain investment scams. These scams utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create fake videos in order to attract potential investors. The videos feature celebrities and business leaders promoting fraudulent investment schemes. In other words, those Musk, Bezos, or Buffett you see in the videos are all fake, created by artificial intelligence (known as “Deepfake”). These videos often appear on social media, digital ads, and messaging apps, promoting fake investment schemes that are estimated to cause billions of dollars in losses annually due to fraudulent activities.
The AG’s office is urging New Yorkers to follow the following advice to protect themselves and report misleading content appearing on social media platforms to law enforcement agencies.
“Sophisticated scammers are using artificial intelligence to impersonate trusted business leaders and swindle hard-earned money from vulnerable New Yorkers,” James said in a statement. “Fake investment scam videos are spreading like wildfire on social media, and New Yorkers should know how to avoid becoming victims of these scams.”
Scammers utilize AI technology to create deepfake videos impersonating celebrities to promote false investments, targeting victims online, often involving cryptocurrency schemes. These deepfake videos of celebrities can even alter the individual’s voice and mouth movements, making the fraudulent activities appear realistic.
Subsequently, these videos are used as advertisements to social media users or conducted as fake live streams on platforms like YouTube. Apart from business leaders, scammers may also impersonate government officials or others to gain the trust of victims. AI technology enables scammers to mass-produce deceptive ads through various imitations, widely targeting potential victims.
* Scammers lead victims to encrypted messaging applications.
Once a victim shows interest in the so-called investment, scammers may try to shift conversations from public social media to encrypted private messaging services like WhatsApp or Signal. After the victims make an initial investment on the fraudulent platform as described in the advertisement, scammers typically create fake websites showing increasing investment values, encouraging victims to send more money. After making more investments (sometimes totaling tens of thousands of dollars), victims may be unable to withdraw funds or asked to pay additional withdrawal fees or “taxes.”
In the end, after the scam is complete, scammers cut off contact, pocketing the victims’ initial investment money. Furthermore, service departments may contact victims afterward, implying that they can retrieve funds but ultimately depleting more of the victims’ assets.
The recommendations from Letitia James’ office include:
– When considering investments, be cautious of the following signals:
(1) Promising guaranteed investment returns.
(2) Urging immediate investment or warning that you will miss an opportunity.
(3) Investment requests from various celebrities.
(4) Sending cryptocurrency to platforms or private wallets without proper authorization.
(5) Requests to move public conversations to encrypted private messaging platforms.
James’ office suggests conducting your own due diligence by searching for reviews about salespeople online and verifying any actual addresses provided by salespeople.
You can check the registration status of investment professionals on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.
To conduct a reverse search on the cameras used, check reliable sources of previous interviews with celebrities. Scammers often utilize clips from existing public videos or audio.
Never provide any personal information, financial details, login credentials, etc., to people you only know online.
If solicited by a known contact, review their profile and contact them through alternative communication means (e.g., phone) to verify their identity.
To prevent scammers from impersonating your contacts, change your privacy settings to keep your friends list, photos, videos, posts, and comments confidential.
Do not click on any links in emails or direct messages unless the sender’s identity is confirmed.
Stay vigilant against unsolicited investment opportunities, especially those offered through email, social media, or phone calls. Legitimate businesses do not aggressively push potential investors to make quick decisions or disclose sensitive information through these channels.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all your accounts, especially those related to finance and email. MFA requires more than one verification method, making it harder for scammers to access your accounts, even if they use complex technologies such as Deepfakes.
Remember, these transactions are almost always irreversible. If you decide to invest, keep all documents and save your communication information.
Letitia James encourages anyone who may have been a victim of such scams to report to the AG’s office via online complaints or by calling 1-800-771-7755, with information kept confidential.