Investment scammers used deepfake technology to create fake videos of Trevor Manuel and other high-profile individuals providing fraudulent investment advice on social media platforms.
Investment scammers created deepfake videos featuring the artificial likeness and voice of Trevor Manuel, chairman of Old Mutual and former South African Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009. The videos circulated on social media platforms and purportedly showed Manuel providing investment advice and encouraging public investment in certain products. Manuel is not authorized to provide investment advice under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act of 2002, and he warned that he does not give investment advice to anyone. Similar deepfake videos have also featured other prominent figures including Johann Rupert, Nicky Oppenheimer, and Elon Musk. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority identified several unauthorized entities using these tactics, including Dazzle Brilliance Diamond promising unrealistic returns of R6,000 for R2,500 investments in 40 days, and Capital40 Investments claiming to provide access to AI trading software. Manuel stated that 'too many people have lost their hard-earned money, especially what they've saved for later in life, stolen by crooks' and urged people to protect their savings.
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