Investment and crypto fraud · Also called fake celebrity endorsement, deepfake investment ad, fake news article investment scam
Celebrity deepfake investment ad
A celebrity deepfake investment ad is a scam ad or fake news story that uses a famous person's image, and increasingly an AI-generated video or voice, to promote an investment. The link leads to a sign-up form, then a pushy caller or fake trading platform that takes deposits and never pays out.
How it works
- A sponsored post, video, or fake news article shows a well-known person apparently recommending a trading platform or crypto scheme.
- The link leads to a sign-up page that collects the victim's name, phone number, and email address.
- A so-called account manager calls, persuades the victim to make a small deposit, and may ask to install remote access software.
- Fake profits encourage larger deposits, and withdrawals are blocked or charged fees.
Red flags
- A celebrity, business leader, or TV presenter appears to endorse a get-rich investment in an ad or news-style article.
- The video looks slightly off: lip movement that does not match the words, odd blinking, or distorted hands or teeth.
- After you sign up, a caller pressures you to deposit money quickly.
- You are asked to install remote access software so someone can help you trade.
If you are targeted
- Stop contact and do not send more money or install any software the caller asks for.
- Contact your bank or card issuer about the deposits, and if you installed remote access software, remove it and change your passwords.
- Report the ad to the platform that showed it.
- Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.
- Expect recovery scams: anyone who contacts you offering to get your money back for a fee, including people claiming to be lawyers, regulators, or the FBI, is running a second scam.
Prevention
For individuals
- Assume celebrity investment endorsements in ads and posts are fake: famous people do not contact you or advertise schemes this way.
- Never give remote access to your device to someone who contacted you about an investment.
- Check any platform on your regulator's register before depositing.
For organisations
- Ad platforms can verify financial advertisers and remove ads that use public figures without permission.
- Banks can warn customers making first-time payments to trading platforms that match known scam patterns.
By the numbers
Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.
| Losses in FBI IC3 complaints mentioning AI in 2025 (overlaps other categories, never summed) | $893.3M | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
| Investment fraud losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 | $8.65B | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
| Investment scam losses in the UK in 2025 (authorised push payment) | £221.5M | GB, 2025, UK Finance |
| Investment scam losses reported in Australia in 2025 | A$837.7M | AU, 2025, ACCC |
Real cases
No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.
Delivered through: Social media ads and posts, Malvertising and SEO poisoning, Voice phishing (vishing)
How official datasets classify it
- FBI IC3
- Investment
- FTC
- Miscellaneous Investments & Investment Advice
- UK Finance
- Investment scam
- Scamwatch
- Investment scams
Questions
- Is that celebrity really recommending this investment?
- Almost certainly not. Scammers use real photos and AI-generated video and voices of famous people to make fake endorsements look convincing.
- How can I spot a deepfake video?
- Look for mismatched lip movement, odd eyes or teeth, and distorted hands. But the safest rule is that any celebrity pitching an investment in an ad is a red flag, however real it looks.