Fraudsters created and promoted a fake AI trading platform using deepfake technology to impersonate the Bank of Cyprus CEO and fabricate endorsements, attempting to scam users into investing €250 deposits with promises of guaranteed €15,000 monthly returns.
Fraudsters created a fake AI platform called the 'Bank of Cyprus Trading AI Platform' that promised users guaranteed monthly earnings of €15,000 for a minimal deposit of €250. The scam was promoted through fabricated content including a deepfake video featuring Bank of Cyprus CEO Panicos Nicolaou supposedly discussing the platform's success, bearing the BBC logo. The fake video claimed that over 30,000 Cypriots were already using the platform and that 30,000 new users were joining daily. Additional fraudulent content included fabricated images showing the CEO posting about the platform on Twitter and photos allegedly taken at bank branches. The Bank of Cyprus categorically denied any involvement with the platform and confirmed these claims were entirely false. The bank issued warnings about fraudsters increasingly using advanced technology including deepfakes to create convincing scams, often impersonating the bank to promote fake investment opportunities through phishing emails, SMS messages, and social media posts. The bank advised customers to only use official channels, avoid clicking suspicious links, verify requests directly with the bank, and report incidents to abuse@bankofcyprus.com.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to gain a personal advantage over others such as through cheating, fraud, scams, blackmail or targeted manipulation of beliefs or behavior. Examples include AI-facilitated plagiarism for research or education, impersonating a trusted or fake individual for illegitimate financial benefit, or creating humiliating or sexual imagery.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed