AI-generated deepfake videos of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake were created and spread on social media to promote fraudulent investment schemes, using manipulated footage to falsely claim government backing for schemes promising extraordinary returns.
Scammers created AI-generated deepfake videos falsely depicting Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake promoting investment schemes that promised returns of Rs. 750,000 per month from Rs. 75,000 investments. The manipulated videos used real footage from television programs aired on May 3rd, including the 'Satana' program on Sirasa TV and the Derana 360 program, but replaced the audio with AI-generated voice content that did not match the President's actual voice. The fraudulent posts included registration links directing users to fake Daily Mirror articles featuring fabricated interviews about the investment schemes. The Presidential Media Division confirmed that the videos were created using artificial intelligence and that no such government investment program exists. Sri Lanka CERT identified this as part of Immediate Flex scams that use fake celebrity endorsements to deceive victims. Cybersecurity expert Asela Widyanakara warned that clicking on the malicious links could compromise personal details including Facebook credentials and lead users to phishing websites designed to steal sensitive information.
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.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed