Scammers used an AI-generated deepfake video of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to conduct a fraudulent investment scheme, prompting warnings from the Personal Data Protection Agency.
Scammers created an AI-generated deepfake video of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to conduct a fraudulent investment scheme. The deepfake used footage from Pashinyan's latest public address about his 'Real Armenia' ideology, but manipulated it to show him appearing to launch an investment company promising stable monthly income of 1.8 million Armenian drams ($4,500). The fabricated video instructed viewers to follow a link and register with personal information including names, phone numbers, and email addresses, after which a 'personal manager' would contact them. The video claimed access to the project was limited to 24 hours. The deepfake was shared online in Russian from an account called 'Noticias Mundiales' (World News). Armenia's Personal Data Protection Agency issued warnings urging citizens to ignore such fake advertisements and never provide personal or banking information. This was not the first instance of Pashinyan being targeted by deepfakes, with a similar incident reported in October 2023 involving a fake Facebook advertising campaign run by administrators in Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Venezuela. The report notes that deepfake videos involving Armenians have become frequent in recent months, with fact-checkers debunking similar cases involving media figures and doctors promoting various products.
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