A Surrey resident has lost £20,000 of his life savings after he was tricked into a scam investment by a deepfake video of TV star ‘Martin Lewis’.
David*, a retired engineer, spotted a video on Facebook of who he believed was ‘Martin’, the Money Saving Expert, promoting an investment scheme.
Fraudsters then persuaded David – not his real name – to part with various sums of money before he realised that he had been duped but it was too late.
David has told his story as a warning to others about how easy it is to be deceived by artificial intelligence (AI) scammers as part of Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend’s ‘Question EVERYTHING’ campaign.
Sophisticated fake content
The campaign aims to highlight the emerging threat of criminals using AI and deepfakes to create increasingly sophisticated fake content designed to scam victims.
As part of ‘Question EVERYTHING’, Lisa created a deepfake video of herself to convey how realistic and deceptive this technology can be. A free information guide called: ‘The dangers of AI and deepfakes: How to avoid becoming the victim of AI generated scams’ was produced by the Commissioner’s office to accompany the film.
David said: “‘Martin’ [Lewis] was promoting an investment that was available to anyone, and should be taken seriously, as a way to boost your savings. There was a link attached. All you had to do was invest £200 and watch your investment grow.”
David watched his funds increase in a short number of months and so deposited a further five thousand pounds into the account. Once the value had reached £25,000, he wanted to withdraw some money.
‘I was in too deep’
He said: “This is when it all started to change. When I requested to withdraw some funds, I was confronted with making “liquidity” or “security” payments which I was told would be refunded the next day. I was told that this was necessary because the funds were coming from Crypto investments”.
After paying the sum of £5,000 needed to release the money, David was then informed that a further £10,000 was required for ‘faster payments’.
He added: “By the time I realised what was happening I was in too deep and couldn’t get out without losing my money. I felt stupid for getting into this situation and ashamed to tell my wife that I had lost some of our savings.”
Martin Lewis
Lisa said: “This comes at a time when fraudsters are increasingly turning to AI to create slick personalised messaging, craft lifelike looking deepfake videos and clone authentic sounding voices.
“Martin Lewis is currently the most frequently impersonated high-profile person by fraudsters who use sophisticated AI methods to make adverts look real.
“AI generated technology is also being used to automate frauds and increase their reach to prey on unsuspecting individuals.”
“Upsetting”
David added: “It has been a very stressful and upsetting time since this all started last March.
“It still goes on.
“I am contacted almost daily by individuals making 100% promises that they can get my money back, but I know that they are all disingenuous.”
Question EVERYTHING is being supported by Surrey Police, Victim and Witness Care Unit, and Surrey’s Community and Safety Prevention Board.
To find the Question EVERYTHING campaign film with deepfake and free online information guide, visit surrey-pcc.gov.uk/question-everything-fraud/