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

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Source: The Guardian TechnologyAugust 16, 2026

Summary

Scammers are using deepfakes (AI-generated fake videos that realistically mimic real people) of Australian celebrities and politicians, especially Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to trick people into fake investment schemes, with Australians losing $7.4 million to these scams in the past year. AI technology is making these deepfakes increasingly convincing and harder to detect, and scammers combine them with fake websites, reviews, and news articles to build trust before stealing money. The number of scams reported to Australia's corporate watchdog nearly tripled year-over-year, with deepfake investment scams being particularly prevalent.

Solution / Mitigation

According to Asic and Scamwatch, consumers should: verify website addresses independently, check whether a person or company is legitimate through their own research, be wary of urgent calls to act, check for a certified Australian financial services licence against Asic's professional registers (while being aware scammers misuse these licences), and report any scams to Scamwatch, their bank, or cyber.gov.au. Asic chair Sarah Court also advised that 'a simple online search is not enough to verify whether an opportunity is legitimate' and emphasized the importance of independent verification before investing.