Scammers used audio deepfake technology to manipulate genuine interview footage of Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and journalist Mark Laurence Zammit, making them appear to promote a fraudulent AI-driven trading platform investment scheme.
Scammers created a fraudulent video by taking genuine footage from a November 2022 interview between Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and Times of Malta journalist Mark Laurence Zammit and overlaying it with audio deepfake technology. The manipulated audio made it appear that Abela was promoting an AI-driven trading platform that could transform a €250 payment into €30,000 monthly income, with Abela falsely claiming the investment was 'protected by the Central Bank of Malta.' The original 56-minute interview, conducted in Maltese with English subtitles, actually discussed topics like corruption, abortion, and environmental degradation, with no mention of investment platforms. The scam post used English-language deepfake audio to mimic both speakers' voices and intonation. The fraudulent video was posted on Facebook as part of efforts to get people to sign up for a fraudulent investment scheme. Several people contacted Times of Malta to verify whether the post was genuine. This represents the latest in a series of similar scams that have targeted countless victims, with the same interview footage previously being used in cryptocurrency investment scams in previous years. The incident demonstrates how deepfake technology is being exploited by malicious actors to create convincing but false endorsements from trusted public figures.
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
No population impact data reported.