Deepfake Anthony Albanese used in celebrity scams duping Australians out of $7.4m, Asic warns

Deepfake Anthony Albanese Used in Celebrity Scams

Wanderstayfinder.com – Australian investors lost $7.4 million to fraud schemes built around synthetic likenesses of prominent public figures, with a deepfake Anthony Albanese used in celebrity impersonations topping the list of targets, according to ASIC’s latest consumer-protection bulletin. The regulator confirmed that over the most recent financial year, scammers deployed AI-generated video and audio of well-known Australians to lure victims into depositing funds into offshore accounts controlled by organised crime networks.

The scale of the problem has accelerated sharply. ASIC logged more than 19,400 scam complaints in the period — roughly triple the count from the preceding twelve months. Officials attribute much of that spike to falling production costs and rising realism in synthetic-media tools, which let fraudsters manufacture convincing clips of anyone whose face appears in public broadcasts.

How the Fake Prime Minister Pitched Investors

In one widely shared clip, genuine footage of the sitting prime minister is stitched together with a fabricated voiceover promoting a scheme that promises $40,000 per month for an initial deposit of just $4,000. The composite figure speaks directly to camera, presenting the arrangement as though it carried official government endorsement.

“This is not just another scam product,” the synthetic Albanese tells viewers, falsely labelling the offer an “official platform” backed by a state guarantee.

A second video features the same composite figure touting earnings of $35 per hour — framed in-script as roughly $850 daily and more than $25,000 monthly. The voice carries an American accent, and the script pivots to tax policy:

“Greetings. From the first day I became prime minister, I wanted to improve the tax system. We will not fully get rid of taxes, of course, but any resident will be able to receive dividends from them.”

The arithmetic collapses under scrutiny, and the accent is inconsistent with the speaker’s actual background — details ASIC highlights so consumers can spot the fabrication quickly.

Who Else Lands on the Impersonation List

Beyond the prime minister, Scamwatch data identifies economists Tom Piotrowski and Stephen Koukoulas, ABC financial journalist Alan Kohler, and senators Jacqui Lambie and Angus Taylor as the next most-impersonated figures. Rounding out the top ten are entrepreneur Dick Smith, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, economist Alan Oster, former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, and the late radio presenter John Laws.

The regulator stresses that these choices shift with the news cycle. Fraudsters monitor headlines and swap synthetic personas to ride whatever story is drawing public attention at any given moment.

“It is important to note that scammers are receptive to broader changes in the news cycle and will opportunistically change which celebrities they impersonate to capitalise on topical issues,” ASIC warned.

Operational Numbers Behind the Warning

In the latest financial year ASIC dismantled 5,476 phishing hyperlinks — close to four times the prior-year figure. It also shut down 7,051 fraudulent investment platforms, a 2.5-fold jump, and took enforcement action against 3,106 cryptocurrency-related scams, up roughly 30 percent year on year.

Commission chair Sarah Court cautioned that surface polish should not be mistaken for legitimacy:

“The presence of polished content, familiar branding or convincing testimonials does not mean an investment is legitimate. AI is making investment scams more convincing and harder to detect. A simple online search is not enough to verify whether an opportunity is legitimate.”

She urged prospective investors to confirm website addresses independently, verify that any person or company claiming a particular identity actually holds that identity, and treat urgent pressure-to-act as a red flag.

Closing the Confidence Gap

A Commonwealth Bank study published earlier this year exposed a troubling disconnect: approximately nine in ten Australians said they could identify an AI-generated scam, yet in controlled tests they succeeded less than half the time. That gap between self-assessed vigilance and actual detection ability is precisely what fraudsters exploit.

Scamwatch recommends that consumers pause before transferring money or personal information, independently verify every detail presented to them, and report suspected scams to the centre, their bank, or via cyber.gov.au. ASIC additionally advises checking for a certified Australian financial services licence before committing funds to any platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Australians lose to deepfake celebrity scams last year?

The ten most-impersonated personalities accounted for $7.4 million in combined losses, with the synthetic Albanese clip generating the largest share of complaints.

What should I check before investing after seeing a video of a public figure?

Verify the speaker’s identity independently, confirm the platform holds an ASIC-registered financial services licence, search for the offer outside the video’s own links, and treat any urgency or guaranteed-return language as a warning sign.

Where can I report a suspected deepfake scam in Australia?

Report to Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au), your bank’s fraud line, or via cyber.gov.au. ASIC also accepts complaints through its online portal.