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@thetruism · Updated 9h ago

TechnologyUpdated 9h ago

ASIC warns Australians have lost $7.4 million to celebrity deepfake scams

Scammers are using highly realistic AI deepfakes of prominent Australian figures, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to lure social media users into fraudulent investment schemes that have cost victims $7.4 million, according to a warning from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

New credible information is still arriving and the record keeps changing.

The numbers

Australia

$7.4 million

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reported that Australians have lost $7.4 million to deepfake celebrity investment scams.

3

Sources

1

Primary

0

Corroborated

Moderate

Evidence

Comment

Where this comes from

Primary sources1

Direct records: official statements, agencies, courts, operators and first-hand documents.

  • Australian Cyber Security Centre

    Published today

    Secondary source

    Claims supported (1)

    • · Highly realistic AI deepfake ads are being used to scam Australian citizens on social media.

Independent reporting2

Separate newsrooms reporting the event through their own reporting chain.

  • ABC News (Australia)

    Published today

    Secondary source

    Claims supported (1)

    • · Highly realistic AI deepfake ads are being used to scam Australian citizens on social media.
  • Google News Australia

    Published today

    Secondary source

    Claims supported (2)

    • · Scammers have used deepfake videos of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to promote fraudulent investment schemes.
    • · The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reported that Australians have lost $7.4 million to deepfake celebrity investment scams.

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Live updates

  1. Aug 16 · 11:00 PM

    Answered: The exact amount of financial losses incurred by victims of these specific deepfake ads. — The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reported that Australians have lost $7.4 million to these deepfake celebrity investment scams.

  2. Aug 16 · 11:00 PM

    ASIC warns that Australians have lost $7.4 million to celebrity deepfake investment scams, including videos impersonating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

  3. Aug 16 · 10:01 PM

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission warned that deepfake scams, including those impersonating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have defrauded Australians of $7.4 million.

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What we know

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What we don't know

Open questions are tracked here until evidence answers them. The Truism never fills a gap with an assumption.

  • The physical locations of the cybercriminal networks deploying these AI tools.

Update & correction history

  1. Aug 16 · 11:00 PM

    Answered: The exact amount of financial losses incurred by victims of these specific deepfake ads. — The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reported that Australians have lost $7.4 million to these deepfake celebrity investment scams.

  2. Aug 16 · 11:00 PM

    ASIC warns that Australians have lost $7.4 million to celebrity deepfake investment scams, including videos impersonating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

  3. Aug 16 · 10:01 PM

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission warned that deepfake scams, including those impersonating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have defrauded Australians of $7.4 million.

The record is never silently rewritten. Every change is logged.