Fraud

An American mother allegedly created ‘deepfake videos’ of her teen daughter's cheerleading rivals depicting them naked, drinking and smoking in a bid to get them kicked off the cheerleading squad.  

Raffaela Spone was accused of using social media accounts of the teens to generate ‘deepfake’ videos. Whilst Spone was initially charged, digital forensics experts determined the clip in question is unlikely a deepfake. The officers involved with charging Spone allegedly did not use metadata analysis to detect the authenticity of the clip.

This is an example of ‘The Liar’s Dividend,’ a phenomenon where an authentic video is dismissed as a deepfake. Unable to prove that the video was a deepfake, all charges against Spone have since been dropped.

A video featuring an Elon Musk deepfake promising huge returns to invest in a dodgy cryptocurrency scheme has gone viral.

The phoney Musk talks unclearly and robotically about a new investment project that people should put their money in to increase dividends. Reportedly a fake cryptocurrency trading platform called “BitVex” deepfaked an existing video of Musk’s TedTalk interview with Chris Anderson earlier this year.

The Tesla CEO was quick to debunk the crypto scam deepfake on Twitter saying “Yikes. Def not me,” in response.

Who created the deepfake?

BitVex

Was the content disclosed as a deepfake?

No

Was the deepfake consensual?

No

How was the deepfake created?

Deepfake Software
Video Editing

A senior Malaysian government official has allegedly confessed that a viral sex video did in fact feature himself and a Cabinet minister, whom he urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate.

The original video, circulated amongst journalists and widely online, appeared to depict a Cabinet minister in bed with another man, a crime still punishable by law in Malaysia. Political staffer Haziq Aziz then released a Malay-language message on Facebook claiming that it was him and the identified minister in the video.

The scandal has left the wider public questioning if the Aziz's confession uploaded to Facebook was real or a deepfake. The outcome is still unknown, causing misinformation and distrust for Malaysian politicians.

In a fake ad, President Joe Biden and White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, have a new side gig of trying to sell auto insurance.

President Joe Biden has been poorly dubbed into the fake video making up false payment claims. The ad features someone poorly impersonating Biden and is dubbed over an entirely unrelated clip of him giving a speech so the mouth is out of sync.

The cheapfake was uploaded to Facebook by Homes Panel which spent more than 80,000 dollars on Facebook ads. While Facebook removed some of their ads, the stunt scored 4.5 million impressions.

In a series of deepfake video calls, hackers have impersonated Binance chief communications officer, Patrick Hillmann, fooling several representatives of cryptocurrency projects.

The attackers used what Hillman described as an AI hologram deepfake of his image, tricking some into thinking he was helping them list on the Stock Exchange.

The COO says there’s been a recent spike in hackers pretending to be Binance employees and executives on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Telegram but says pre-bunking helps to be prepared, as well as defend users and the ecosystem.

Who created the deepfake?

Unknown

Was the content disclosed as a deepfake?

No

Was the deepfake consensual?

No

How was the deepfake created?

AI hologram deepfake

An American widow was allegedly scammed nearly $300,000 by a con man who romanced her online using deepfake technology. The suspects posed as the superintendent of the US Naval Academy, Admiral Buck, who had his images publicly available online.

The victim thought she was participating in an online romance via Skype live chat, but actually fell foul to a doctored video of the admiral. Once she was informed she had been swindled, the American widow attempted to recall the wire transfers, with the banks being able to seize some, but not all, of the funds lost. The suspects remain at large.

Who created the deepfake?

Unknown

Was the content disclosed as a deepfake?

No

Was the deepfake consensual?

No

How was the deepfake created?

Real-time Deepfake Software
Skype

A veteran manga artist was swindled out of more than $500,000 by a scammer who claimed he was Mark Ruffalo.

Chikae Ide was contacted on Facebook by someone claiming to be the Bruce Banner-Hulk Avengers actor, who built an online romance and used deepfake technology for video calls. 

The fake Hollywood scammer asked for thousands of dollars claiming he had money troubles and needed cash for a plane ticket and hospital bills. Ide's daughter intervened to help stop the swindler. Ide reported the 3 1/2-year ordeal that cost her 75 million yen to a nearby police station in June 2021, the culprit is still yet to be found. 

The 74-year-old decided to turn her heartache into a novel and manga, Poison Love, in hopes of helping others realise the dangers of online international romance scams and also to make money to pay her friends back who she borrowed money from for the deepfake con artist.

Who created the deepfake?

Unknown

Was the content disclosed as a deepfake?

No

Was the deepfake consensual?

No

How was the deepfake created?

Real-Time Deepfake Software