Cybersecurity company Cybertrace has issued a warning regarding a highly convincing deepfake video featuring Australian mining magnate and businessman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest promoting a fake cryptocurrency trading platform on social media. The video, which surfaced on Facebook, encourages users to sign up for a fraudulent platform claiming to generate thousands of dollars daily for “ordinary people.” Reportedly, potential victims are directed to a website called “Quantum AI,” which Cybertrace identifies as a well-known name associated with scams and financial fraud.
CEO of Cybertrace, Dan Halpin, expressed his belief that “people will be fooled by this deepfake” due to the scammers’ apparent expertise in sales. Halpin noted that the video’s length and repetition make it highly convincing, suggesting that it was created by someone with knowledge of sales and marketing techniques.
The deepfake video aims to manipulate Forrest’s behavior and body language from a “fireside chat” conducted by Rhodes Trust in October 2023. Cybertrace discovered the deepfake on Facebook on January 27th, where an altered version of the billionaire, created using artificial intelligence (AI), promotes the fake cryptocurrency trading software.
In the video, the AI-altered version of Forrest promises viewers the opportunity of a lifetime by joining him and his team as partners in the world’s most intelligent stock and cryptocurrency trading software, capable of making profits regardless of market conditions.
Forrest, a former CEO of Western Australian mining firm Fortescue Metals Group, is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, with a net worth of $29.4 billion, according to Bloomberg. The scam video concludes with Forrest urging viewers to sign up for the platform before it’s too late.
Cybertrace has urged users to exercise caution due to the recent surge in AI deepfake fraud. The issue of deepfakes has also gained attention from US lawmakers following the widespread circulation of fake photos of Taylor Swift. Representative Joe Morelle is particularly interested in criminalizing the production of deepfake images in the country.
Cybertrace highlighted that scammers creating these deepfake videos have also targeted Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, entrepreneur Dick Smith, and TV host Allison Langdon. The rise in impersonating high-profile Australian business figures and politicians coincides with Australians reporting losses of over 3.1 billion Australian dollars ($2 billion) to scams in 2022, according to the country’s competition and consumer regulator. Additionally, there was a 162.4% increase in losses to investment scams involving cryptocurrency as the payment method, reaching $148.3 million (221.3 million Australian dollars) in 2022 compared to the previous year.
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