Scammers used AI-generated deepfake videos of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and other officials to defraud citizens across 20 provinces by promising financial aid in exchange for administrative fees.
Criminals created sophisticated deepfake videos of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka using AI tools, showing them offering financial assistance to citizens. The fraudulent videos were distributed across social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, asking viewers to contact WhatsApp numbers and pay administrative fees of 250,000 to 1 million rupiah ($15-$60) to receive aid that never materialized. The scam affected people across 20 provinces in Indonesia. Police arrested two suspects, with one having pocketed 65 million rupiah ($4,000) from the scheme. AFP fact-checkers found at least 22 TikTok accounts promoting the fraudulent scheme since October, with one account gaining 7.5 million views on a single deepfake video. The scam exploited the accessibility of AI deepfake technology and citizens' trust in government officials. Victims reported the videos were so sophisticated they appeared authentic, with some scammers even conducting video calls to maintain the deception. The incident highlights the growing problem of deepfake fraud as AI tools become more accessible and affordable to criminals.
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