Martin Lewis, Taylor Swift, Elon Musk, Adele and Holly Willoughby are among the most impersonated celebrities according to Money Saving Expert's analysis of Action Fraud data.
NatWest also delved into celebrity impersonation scams data, and Martin Lewis, Elon Musk and Jennifer Anniston topped its list of the most impersonated celebrities.
Below, we tell you how to spot a deepfake video.
Deepfake scam videos
Which? examined several deepfake videos that posed as celebrities on Facebook and Instagram. All of them either promoted dodgy products or investment schemes and led to phishing websites.
In some of the videos, genuine footage of the celebrities was used, but the celebrity appears to be speaking about the product or investment. In these cases, the celebrity voice has been cloned using AI technology to enable the scammer to create the impression that the celebrity is endorsing the product.
Which? found a video of Holly Willoughby seemingly promoting a medical device. However, the footage used was stolen from a make-up tutorial video on Instagram. Scammers had edited her lip movement and voice to make it appear as if she was promoting the device.
In other videos, footage had been manipulated to make the celebrity say things that they didn’t. For example, one video we found took a real clip of Elon Musk on a podcast and altered it to make it appear as if he was promoting an investment platform.
Watch our video below to see the scam clues in this deepfake Elon Musk investment scam.
Meta explained that its Community Standards apply to all content regardless of whether it is created by AI or a person and it will take action against content that violates these policies. It added that it takes several steps to combat the spread of AI deepfakes, including removing manipulated media that violates its policies, and labelling content that fact-checkers say is false or altered.
Scammers steal millions from victims every year. We want the government and businesses to do more to protect us from scams. Join our campaign toAre deepfake videos on the rise?
Fraudsters use deepfake videos in many ways – to steal identities, impersonate people you know and pose as famous people to sell dodgy products and investments.
In its 2024 identity fraud report, identity verification company Onfido found a 3,000% increase in the use of deepfake attempts at identity fraud in 2023 compared to 2022. Onfido puts this down to growth in the accessibility of cheap online tools, apps and generative AI.
Verification and authentication company iProov also reported an increase in the use of deepfakes in the form of face-swap technology, which is software that allows you to put someone else’s face over your own in a video.
It saw these types of attacks grow by over 700% in the second half of 2023, when compared to the first half of the year.
Last year, the passing of the Online Safety Act made it a legal requirement for platforms to remove harmful content, including scams and frauds. Which? is calling on Ofcom, the regulator responsible for enforcing the rules, to develop a code of conduct that puts robust duties on platforms to detect and take down scams using the Online Safety Act.
How to spot and report a deepfake video
Some deepfake videos are hard to identify, but there are methods you can use:
To report scam videos on social media, select the three dots in the top right-hand corner and then ‘Report’.
You can also share the details with Which? by using our scam reporting tool.
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