Deepfake of Irish Presidential Candidate Heather Humphreys in Fake Investment Scam Videos
Fraudsters created AI-generated deepfake videos using the voice and image of Irish presidential candidate Heather Humphreys to promote a fake "Quantum AI" investment scheme on Meta platforms. The videos falsely portrayed her endorsing an investment platform requiring a minimum €300 deposit with promised returns of up to €4,500 per week, as part of a broader scam operation targeting European investors.
What happened
Fraudsters created AI-generated deepfake videos using voice cloning and image synthesis technology to portray Irish presidential candidate Heather Humphreys endorsing a fake investment platform called 'Quantum AI'.
The videos were circulated as paid advertisements on Meta platforms, falsely claiming that Humphreys introduced the platform and stating it required a minimum €300 investment with promised returns of up to €4,500 per week.
Reported impact
Bank of Ireland warned consumers to watch out for these advertisements and others like them, describing them as 'highly convincing' and 'designed to lure unsuspecting individuals into fraudulent schemes'.
The scam was part of a broader wave of online investment fraud affecting European consumers, with victims reporting losses ranging from hundreds of euros to over a million euros.
Index analysis
The deepfake technology employed advancing voice-cloning software and duplicated the fake videos repeatedly across social media platforms including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
The broader scam operation trained agents to pursue victims for weeks or months, showing them fake trading platforms displaying initial profits to encourage larger investments before victims realized they could not withdraw funds.
Governance controls
Bank of Ireland advised consumers to verify financial products through their bank or trusted financial advisor and to check the Central Bank of Ireland register before investing.
Bank of Ireland Head of Fraud Nicola Sadlier called for Meta platforms to verify that advertisers of financial services are authorised by a recognised regulatory body before adverts go live.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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