Scammers who have been using social media advertisements, particularly on Meta platforms, to impersonate New Zealand celebrities, journalists, politicians, have now turned to impersonating financial commentators and business leaders by creating fake profiles.
These pages use deepfake videos to promote free investment advice WhatsApp groups and encourage victims to invest in fake online investment platforms.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - has issued a warning and will continue to update its warnings as the scam develops.
FMA Executive Director Licensing and Conduct Supervision Clare Bolingford said: "It is concerning to see these impersonations featuring New Zealand journalists, politicians, actors, businesspeople and financial commentators. Impersonating business leaders and commentators is a new feature of this type of scam, and they include deepfake videos that look realistic.
This latest version of the scam comes after previous FMA warnings issued about online impersonation of politicians and media identities that have surfaced in the last 18 months.
This latest surge of deepfake images and videos means that people should be very cautious of anyone on social media promoting investments.
"The impersonations of public figures in scams are not unique to New Zealand - they are carried out all over the world, tailored to each country cutting and pasting in the names and identities of local celebrities, journalists, politicians, business leaders and commentators. The names and faces keep changing, but the promise of investment platforms and easy money, resulting in New Zealanders being scammed out of their savings, remain the same," said Clare Bolingford.
"The FMA is warning the public about this scam to help investors and consumers understand how the scam operates, make informed decisions and take steps to protect themselves."
