Deepfake articles impersonated Maltese ministers to promote NethertoxAGENT fraud
Scam articles appearing on Maltese social media on October 27 impersonated the Times of Malta, government ministers including Silvio Schembri, and financial experts to promote the NethertoxAGENT fraudulent trading scheme using deepfake videos and fabricated testimonials. The articles falsely claimed a €215 investment would generate €850 weekly returns and misused the likenesses and logos of legitimate entities.
What happened
Scam articles featuring Maltese ministers advertising the NethertoxAGENT fraudulent trading platform appeared on Maltese social media on October 27, hours after budget day. The articles purported to be published by the Times of Malta but were hosted on the domain sicilyunwrapped.com.
The articles featured deepfake videos of Economy Minister Silvio Schembri discussing the scheme with journalists from MaltaToday, Newsbook, the Malta Independent and TVM. The articles included fabricated testimonials from local financial experts with their genuine photographs, and used logos of legitimate businesses and state entities to suggest support for the scheme.
Reported impact
The scam promised that a one-time €215 investment in NethertoxAGENT would guarantee weekly payouts of €850. The articles impersonated journalists, ministers and financial experts to lend credibility to the fraudulent investment scheme.
Index analysis
The deepfake video of Minister Schembri exhibited imperfect voice imitation, and the fabricated testimonials included a photograph of Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar presented as a different person. The fake domain and inconsistencies with legitimate Times of Malta URLs revealed the scam's lack of credibility upon closer inspection.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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