Fake celebrity interviews and AI-generated 'news' are fuelling an investment scam surge in Australia

Key points

• Australia's corporate regulator, ASIC, removed 19,400 scam websites in the past year, a 182 per cent increase on the year before.
• Phishing scam takedowns rose 279 per cent, with 5,476 removed; fake investment platforms accounted for another 7,051 removals.
• Criminals are using AI-generated deepfakes, meaning realistic fake photos and videos made by software, to impersonate prominent Australians including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock.
• The fake interview used to promote an unlicensed cryptocurrency trading platform called Boulder Sparhaven never happened.
• ASIC chair Sarah Court warns that a basic internet search is no longer enough to tell a real investment opportunity from a fraudulent one.

Imagine reading a news article, apparently from the ABC, in which Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock storms out of a heated interview over a cryptocurrency trading platform she refuses to discuss. The writing looks credible. The branding looks familiar. The quotes feel real.

None of it happened.

The article, since removed, was fabricated to promote Boulder Sparhaven, a cryptocurrency platform that holds no licence to offer financial services in Australia. The government's Moneysmart consumer website flags it as a site to avoid. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, this kind of stunt is no longer rare.

How do these scams actually work?

Criminals build a fake world around a fake product. It starts with a deepfake, meaning a photo or video generated by artificial intelligence software that puts a real person's face and voice onto footage they never filmed. The target is usually someone Australians trust: a politician, a TV presenter, a well-known investor.

That deepfake anchors a wider web. Scammers then create fake news articles stuffed with fabricated quotes, invent positive reviews, build convincing websites, and run paid advertisements on mainstream platforms. A person clicking what looks like a normal ad ends up on a fake news page, reads an endorsement from someone they recognise, and hands over their contact details.

What follows is a script. The criminals call the potential victim, offer small payments to build trust, and push them toward fake investment platforms designed to collect deposits that will never be returned.

Who is being impersonated?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tops ASIC's list of most-impersonated Australians. He is joined by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson, independent senator Jacqui Lambie, and mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, whose company Hancock Prospecting has issued repeated public warnings that endorsements attributed to her are fabricated.

ABC finance presenter Alan Kohler appears frequently. So do financial commentators Tom Piotrowski, Alan Oster and Stephen Koukoulas. Late radio broadcaster John Laws, who died late last year, is also on the list.

Should ordinary people be worried, and what can they do?

Yes, though the risk is manageable with a few specific checks. ASIC chair Sarah Court is direct: polished content and convincing testimonials prove nothing about whether an investment is real.

Her practical advice: find the Australian Financial Services licence number any legitimate investment business is required to hold, then check it against ASIC's free public register. If the number is missing, or the details do not match, do not invest.

Kohler argues that asking consumers to be careful is not enough. He wants heavy fines for the online platforms that carry these advertisements and for the AI companies whose tools make the fakes possible.

If you have already sent money to a platform you now suspect is fraudulent, contact your bank immediately and report the incident to ASIC's Scamwatch and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.