If influence is power, the ability of household names to sway public trust is considerable – and in the hands of get-rich-quick scammers, it can be a recipe for disaster.
In 2025, the number of scams using deepfake celebrity images to endorse lucrative investment schemes jumped by 25 per cent, according to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). And the cost of these swindles is hardly minor. False investments are costing Australians close to a billion dollars each year.
While ASIC coordinated the removal of almost 12,000 phishing and investment scam websites in 2025, Australians continue to lose money, says Professor Dali Kaafar, executive director of the Macquarie University Cyber Security Hub and CEO and founder of Apate.ai.
To help protect ourselves from falling victim to these scams, we need to understand how these operations play on our emotions to prompt fast action. Plus know what to do if we find ourselves caught in their trap.
How investment scams draw you in
Scammers typically begin with a hook – such as sophisticated AI-generated deepfake videos that look and sound like a celebrity or business personality. These clips are designed with one goal: to manipulate you into handing over money or information.
“AI is changing the scale and reach of these scams,” says Kaafar. “The people behind them are producing more believable content – and cheaply. They’re generating deepfake celebrity images that look and sound professional in hundreds of languages.”
How fake investment platforms build trust
Once you register for a fake investment scheme via a website or social media ad, scammers will try to move the conversation to a private channel, like an exclusive messaging group, or to a slick-looking investment platform or app. To build trust, a fake dashboard will often show an impressive (but entirely fabricated) account balance. Charts will highlight supposed profits and there will even be a functional-looking withdrawal button for your “earnings”.
At this stage, victims are often allocated a “personal account manager” and may complete an onboarding process that mimics the standard identity checks of legitimate financial institutions. They will usually only ask for small investments initially but as the fake profits roll in, victims will eventually be persuaded to invest more to chase bigger rewards.
The catch comes when you try to withdraw funds. Suddenly, you’ll be hit with demands for taxes, verification fees or account-unlocking fees. Shortly after, the platform goes dark and your money disappears.
Why talking about scams can help protect you
Tools like NameCheck (which searches available account details before you make a first-time payment) help protect you but one of your strongest defences is surprisingly simple: talking openly about your scam experiences and near misses.
Research commissioned by CommBank reveals a stark contrast: more than 90 per cent of Australians believe talking about scams with family and friends is important but only 8 per cent feel comfortable doing so. Breaking the shame and stigma around being scammed – and sharing knowledge about the risks out there – is one of the best forms of defence we can rely on. If you spot a scam, call it out.
