PM Modi's Deepfakes Used In New Financial Scam To Dupe Facebook Users
Beyond financial losses which will be substantial individually, these scams pose a greater danger because they threaten national security.
In a new financial fraud on the internet, scammers have begun using deepfakes of public servants to dupe people into making investments on shady sites.
The most recent example quoted in a report by Athenian Tech called 'Threat Intelligence' is that of a fabricated video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wherein he asks people to invest on an AI-powered trading platform called 'immediate fastx'.
In the video that was circulated over Facebook, the fabricated figure of the Prime Minister can be heard saying, "In collaboration with top financial institution and backed by the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India, we have created this game changing platform. Minutes after my speech there were attempts to stop the broadcast but it was too late. Millions of Indians now know the truth, I, Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister and a firm believer in life changing technology, present immediate fastx, the world's first platform with a 98% success rate."
According to the report, the video lies at the core of this campaign which uses deepfake technology and high-impact psychological tactics to defraud citizens under the guise of a government-endorsed investment scheme.
How Much Is At Stake?
Beyond financial losses which will be substantial individually, these scams pose a greater danger because they threaten national security, "by eroding public confidence and enabling potential information warfare", the report states.
A victim of these scams may lose Rs 21,000 initially. There will be no actual return, and follow-up demands may escalate losses. Collected personal data can be weaponised in secondary frauds — such as unauthorised loan applications, phishing, and SIM-swap attacks.
The Know-Hows And Tell Tales
Generic names, artificial engagement, and cross-platform video reuse are some of the tell tale signs of the social media and Facebook accounts used to propagate these scams, as per the report.
"The attack infrastructure relies on paid promotions through Meta Ads, redirecting users to fraudulent domains hosted under top TLDs, commonly linked to scam networks. These sites harvest personally identifiable information (PII) via imitation forms, followed by coordinated outreach from scam call centers", the report added.
Users are advised not to click on unknown links, even if they appear to be from trusted figures, verify endorsements through official channels, and report suspicious posts on social media platforms.
